;-NRLF 


B    3    3E2    7ME 


OLIVER  CROMWELL; 


OB, 


ENGLAND'S  GREAT  PROTECTOR. 


HENRY  WILLIAM  HERBERT, 

Author  of  "  Henry  VIII.  and  his  Six  Wives ;"  "  Wager  of  Battle  ;"  "  The  Captains  of  the  Greek 
nuii  Roman  Kepuoacs;"  "The  Koman  Traitor;"  "Marmaduke  WyviJ,"  &c.  &e. 


"It  is  his  glory,  that  he  made  the  name  of  Englishman  as  much  a  passport  and  a  safeguard  to  ifi 
bearer,  the  world  over,  as  ever  had  been  the  style  of  Roman  citizen." 

UNPUBLISHED  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


NEW  YORK  AND  AUBURN: 

MILLER,  ORTON   &   MULLIGAN. 

New  York:  25  Park  Row— Auburn:  107  Genesee-st. 

1856. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Consress.  in  the  vear  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-six, 

BY  HENRY  WILLIAM  HERBERT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  New  Jersey. 


AUBURN ! 

MILLER,     ORTON     A     MULLIGAN, 
8TEEEOTYPKR8  AND  FBINTEBS. 


psnft 


TO 

THE    PUBLIC    OF    AMERICA, 

TO   WHOM, 
WHEN  THIS  WORK  WAS  FIRST  CONCEIVED  AND  EXECUTED, 

HE  WAS,   HIMSELF,   BUT  AN 

UNKNOWN  AND  NAMELESS  STRANGER, 

BUT  WITH  WHOM  TIME  AND 

THE  OFTEN  EXCHANGE  OF  COURTESIES  AND  KINDNESS 
HAVE  LED  HIM,   NOW,  TO  HOPE  HIMSELF 

A    FRIEND, 

SFJjfs  Volume  fs  3£espectfullD  HJetJfcatett, 

BY    THE    AUTHOR, 

HENRY    WILLIAM    HERBERT. 
THE  CEDAES,  June,  1856. 


PREFACE. 


JVLonr  years  having  elapsed,  since  this,  my  second,  at 
tempt  at  historical  romance  made  its  appearance,  in  a  pe 
riod  of  civil  and  commercial  darkness  and  depression,  and 
the  work  itself  having  been  long  out  of  print  and  with 
held  from  the  book  market,  I  have  determined  to  repro 
duce  it,  thoroughly  revised  and  corrected,  and  in  some 
passages  re-written,  in  the  hope  that  it  will  not  be  unac 
ceptable  to  those  of  my  readers,  who,  familiar  with  my 
later  works,  have  not  chanced  to  fall  upon  this,  which  was, 
perhaps,  the  first  to  procure  for  me,  however  small,  a 
share  of  popular  favor. 

The  faults,  to  which  a  fair  and  generally  favorable  criti 
cism  chiefly  objected  in  it,  not,  I  now  think,  without  cause, 
a  certain  turgidity  of  style,  and  the  length  and  involution 
of  the  sentences,  have  been  repaired,  as  far  as  possible ; 
and,  while  the  plot  and  incidents  of  the  narrative,  and 
more  particularly  the  scheme  and  sentiment  of  the  work, 
have  been  unchanged,  much  of  the  language  and  not  a 
few  of  the  thoughts  have  been  altered,  I  trust,  for  the 
better. 

So  that  I  hope,  with  some  confidence,  the  picture  of 
England's  Great  Protector — in  whom,  considering  the 
time  at  which  I  wrote,  I  was,  I  believe,  one  of  the  first  to 
discern  and  to  describe,  a  man  misguided  by  his  own  over 
boiling  zeal,  rather  than  a  misleader  of  other  men  ;  a  chief, 


Vi  PREFACE. 

driven  onward  as  the  instrument  of  a  paramount  ne 
cessity  forcing  him  to  climb  the  bloody  ladder  of  am 
bition,  rather  than  a  demagogue,  a  hypocrite  and  an 
usurper ;  a  sovereign,  patriotic,  able,  energetic,  moderate, 
and  just,  as  any  who  has  sat  on  England's  throne ;  and 
less  bloody  than  any,  who  has  won  it  by  his  unassisted 
will  and  greatness — will  be  found,  in  the  main,  unflattered 
as  undistorted,  true,  and  life-like. 

The  features  of  the  portrait  are  unaltered ;  the  atmos 
phere,  through  which,  some  twenty  years  ago,  I  discerned 
what,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  the  true  aspect  of  this  great 
and  wondrous  man,  is  the  same  now,  to  my  perceptions, 
as  it  was  then.  I  have  no  page  to  tear,  no  sentence  to 
erase.  It  is  the  tints  and  tones  of  the  coloring,  which 
will  be  found  changed,  I  hope  improved,  by  the  retouch 
ings,  which  the  experience  of  years  and  the  use  of  letters 
— in  which,  when  this  volume  was  produced,  I  was  but  a 
novice — have  since  shown  me  to  be  more  than  desirable. 

With  some  confidence  and  much  gratitude,  for  the  pa 
tient  and  continued  indulgence  which  my  labors  have  con 
stantly  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the  public,  I  commit 
this  work  to  their  gentle  censure,  and  subscribe  myself 
their  servant, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 

OH  AFTER.  PACK. 

I.  A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE,  »             .              .              .11 

II.  THE  LADY  OK  u  is  LOVE,           ^ ...  23 

III.  A  POET  AND  A  PATRIOT,     .  .              .              .              .33 

IV.  THE  WANDKRER  AT  HOME,       .  •             .              ,             47 
V.  A  STAGHUNT  INTERRUPTED,  ...                    61 

VI.  KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION,  .  .  .  78 

VII.  THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE,  .  .  .  .90 

VIII.  TUP:  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT,  .  .  101 

IX  THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM,  ....  116 

X.  THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS,  .  •  ,  124 

XI.  A  FUGITIVE  KING,             .  .             .             .             .138 


BOOK  n. 

I.  A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT,       •             .             .             .  151 

II.  EDGEHILL,      .             .             .             .             .             .  167 

III.  AFTER  THE  BATTLE,          .....  175 

IV.  THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN,   .....  186 
V.  WINSLEY  FIELD,  .              .             .              .              .              .195 

VI.  MARSTON  MOOR,         .             .             .              .             .  206 

VII.  A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE,           .             +   .          .  226 

VIII.  TEMPTED,  BUT  TRUE,   .              .             •             ••            .  240 

IX.  THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN,   .              ....  248 

X.  NASEBY  FIGHT,            .         •    .             ,             .             .  259 

XL  A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATHBED,             .             .             .             .  267 


CONTENTS. 

BOOK  in. 

CHAPTKB.  PAGE. 

I.  A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND,  ....    281 

II.  THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR,  .             .             .           299 

III.  THE  FATAL  LETTER,          >  .,        ,   .•            .             .309 

IV.  A  MUTINY    SUPPRESSED,         .  .             .             .           821 
V.  JUDGMENT  OR  THE  KNIFE?  ....    833 

VI.  A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE,   ....  844 

VII.  A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT,  ^  .  .  .     363 

VIII.  THE  LAST  TRIAL,         ./  ...  870 


BOOK  IV. 

I.  DUNBAR,              .             .           '•''••»             .  .    883 

II.  WORCESTER,                 .              .             ,             ,             ,  892 

III.  THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP,    .              .             .             .  .     398 

IV.  THE  LATIN  SECRETARY,             «'"-          .         '  ',-            .  409 
V.  THE  PERPETUAL  PROTECTOR,    .        .             £  "'•          .  .418 

VI.  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  MAN,    ....  425 

VII.  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END,         ....    431 

VIII.  THE  PASSING  OF  A  MIGHTY  SPIRIT,        .             .             .  440 


OLIVER    CROMWELL. 


BOOK  I. 


This  is  true  liberty,  when  freeborn  men, 
Having  to  advise  the  public,  may  speak  free ; 
Which  he,  who  can  and  will,  deserves  high  praise  : 
"Who  neither  can  nor  will,  may  hold  his  peace ; 
"What  can  be  juster  in  a  state,  than  this  ? 

MILTON— From  Euripides. 


OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A    NOCTURNAL     ADVENTURE. 

"  Can  this  be  HE— 

Who  hath  no  privilege  of  gentle  birth, 
Beauty,  nor  grace,  nor  utterance  sublime 
Of  words  persuasive,  nor  the  blood-bought  skill 
That  wins  i'  the  forgotten  field ! " 

ANON. 

"  EVEN  as  you  will,  fair  sir — even  as  you  will !  Though 
an'  you  ride  for  Huntingdon  this  night,  and  wish  not,  ere 
it  be  two  hours  the  later,  that  you  had  tarried  here  at 
the  White  Dragon,  then  am  I  not  called  Walter  Danforth, 
nor  have  I  drawn  good  ale  in  Royston  these  forty  years 
and  better." 

With  this  ill-omened  speech  did  mine  host  of  the  soli 
tary  inn,  in  the  pretty  village  he  had  named,  wind  up  the 
long  catalogue  of  bad  roads,  broken  bridges,  and  miry 
fords,  with  which,  according  to  time-honored  usage  among 
the  lords  of  the  spigot,  he  had  been  endeavoring  to  beguile 
a  late  traveller  who  had  paused  at  his  door,  in  the  gath 
ering  gloom  of  a  September  evening,  to  inquire  his  on 
ward  route,  as  much  as  to  water  the  good  beast  he  rode, 
or  to  refresh  himself,  after  a  long  day's  journey. 

In  the  present  instance,  however,  it  would  seem  that 
the  ominous  warnings  of  the  worthy  Boniface  were  des 
tined  to  be  of  none  effect,  for  with  a  cheerful  smile  the 
traveller  answered — 

"'Tis  like  enough,  good  host  of  mine — 'tis  like  enough 
— so  all  the  cates  of  the  White  Dragon  vie  with  this 
puissant  Bourdeaux  ;  "  and,  as  he  spoke,  he  proffered  to 
the  landlord's  grasp  the  mighty  flagon  of  bright  pewter, 


12  OLIVER,  CROMWELL. 

which,  despite  his  eulogy,  he  had  left  still  mantling  with 
its  generous  liquor, — "but,  were  the  venture  deeper,  I 
must  on  to-night ;  and,  in  good  sooth,  I  have  journeyed 
too  often  through  the  midnight  passes  of  the  wild  Ab- 
ruzzi,  and  the  yet  wilder  Pyrenean  hills  of  Spain,  to  pon 
der  gravely  on  a  late  ride  or  a  sprinkled  doublet  among 
these  chalky  wolds  of  Hertfordshire." 

"  Aye !  were  that  all — "  returned  the  other,  heaving  a 
long  breath  after  the  potent  draught  with  which  he  had 
exhausted  the  flagon,  and  eyeing  wistfully  the  coins  which 
had  dropped  with  so  sweet  a  jingle  into  his  greasy  palin, 
— "  Ay,  were  that  all — but  there  are  worse  customers  on 
Ermine-street  than  darkness,  or  storm  either,  though  the 
clouds  be  mustering  so  black  in  the  west  yonder,  over  the 
woods  of  Potton.  Wise  men  ride  not  forth  now-a-days 
an  hour  after  sundown,  nor  earlier,  save  in  company." 

"  Then  must  Old  England  be  sore  changed  since  last  I 
left  her,"  replied  the  traveller,  a  shade  of  thought  or  sor 
row,  for  it  might  be  either,  crossing  his  features,  and  not 
entirely  effaced  by  the  frank  smile  which  followed  it. 
"  And  if  she  be — "  he  paused,  unwilling,  as  brave  men 
ever  are,  to  utter  sentiments  which  might,  however  justi 
fied  by  the  occasion,  sound  boastfully. 

'J  And  if  she  be  ?  "  inquired  the  interested  landlord, 
seeing  that  his  guest  hesitated  to  complete  his  sentence, 
"  and  if  she  be  sore  changed  ?  " 

"  Why,  then  hath  brown  Bess  borne  me  through  worse 
frays  than  I  am  like  to  meet,  I  trow,  on  this  side  Hun 
tingdon  ;  nor  will  it  be  small  peril  that  shall  arrest  her 
now  ;  and  so  good  e'en,  fair  landlord." 

"  A  bold  bird  and  a  braggart !  "  muttered  the  discon 
certed  publican,  as  the  horseman,  giving  the  spur  to  the 
high-bred  mare  of  which  he  had  just  spoken,  rode  briskly 
off.  "But  if  he  meet  with  those  I  wot  of,  he  may  yet 
crow  craven." 

Who  those- were  to  whom  his  words  so  pointedly  allu 
ded,  is  not  perhaps  a  question  of  any  moment,  unless  it 
be  from  the  vast  conception  of  their  prowess  which  ap 
pears  to  have  been  entertained  by  the  landlord  of  the 
White  Dragon ;  for,  in  truth,  the  gentleman  who  had 
earned  his  ill-will  merely  by  a  natural  reluctance  to  tarry 


A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE.  13 

in  Royston  when  his  occasions  called  him  elsewhere,  was 
of  very  different  mould  from  one  of  whom  it  would  be 
said  that  he  was  like  to  fall  an  easy  or  unresisting  prey  to 
any  who  should  dare  dispute  his  progress. 

Removed  alike  from  the  greenness  of  inconsiderate 
youth  and  from  the  inactivity  of  an  advanced  age,  the 
rider  might  be  looked  upon  as  exhibiting  a  specimen  of 
manhood  in  the  full  vigor  of  its  endowments,  both  men 
tal  and  corporeal,  as  fair  as  is  permitted  by  the  imperfec 
tions  of  humanity.  Considerably  above  the  ordinary 
height  of  men,  broad-shouldered,  deep-chested,  and  thin- 
flanked,  he  sat  his  charger  with  an  ease  and  firmness  re 
sulting  more  from  natural  grace  and  flexibility  of  limb 
than  from  the  practiced  art  of  the  manege.  His  eye  was 
clear  and  even  quick,  though  thought  and  calmness  seemed 
to  belong,  rather  than  energy  or  fire,  to  its  general  ex 
pression, — qualities  belied  neither  by  the  broad  imagina 
tive  forehead,  nor  by  the  firm  and  slightly  compressed 
outline  of  his  chiselled  lips.  He  wore  a  small  moustache, 
but  neither  beard  nor  whiskers,  although  both  these  were 
common  in  the  last  years  of  the  unhappy  monarch  who 
at  that  time  swayed  the  destinies  of  England.  His  hair, 
as  was  the  wont  among  the  higher  classes  of  society, 
flowed  in  loose  curls,  trained  with  peculiar  care,  far  down 
the  neck  and  over  the  collar  of  the  doublet,  while  a  sin 
gle  ringlet,  longer  and  more  assiduously  cherished  than 
the  rest,  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  wearer  was  not  of 
one  mind  with  the  pamphlet  lately  published  by  the  noto 
rious  Master  Prynne  on  the  "  unloveliness  of  love-locks." 

The  dress  of  this  cavalier,  a  loose  velvet  jerkin  of  that 
peculiar  shade  which,  from  being  the  favorite  color  of 
the  greatest  painter  of  his  day,  has  been  dignified  with 
the  immortal  title  of  Vandyke,  was  slashed  and  broidered 
with  black  lace  and  satin ;  tight  breeches  of  buff  leather, 
guarded  with  tawny  silk,  high  boots,  and  massive  spurs, 
completed  his  attire.  He  wore  a  broad-leafed  hat  of  dark 
gray  beaver,  with  one  black  ostrich  feather  drooping  from 
the  clasp  which  held  it  over  the  left  eyebrow.  His  mili 
tary  cloak  of  sable  cloth  and  velvet  was  buckled  to  the 
croup  of  his  war-saddle,  while  from  beneath  the  housings 
of  the  bow  peered  out  the  heavy  pistols,  which  had  not 


14  OLIVER   CROMWELL. 

long  before  supplanted  the  lance  as  the  peculiar  weapon 
of  the  horseman.  A  long  rapier,  with  its  steel  scabbard 
and  basket-hilt  of  silver  delicately  carved,  hung  from  a 
shoulder-scarf  of  the  same  color  with  his  doublet,  matched 
by  a  poinard  of  yet  more  costly  fabric  in  his  Cordovan 
leather  girdle. 

When  it  is  added  that  the  mare  which  he  had  styled 
"  brown  Bess  "  was  an  animal  that  might  be  pronounced 
unrivalled  for  the  rare  union  she  displayed  of  strength 
and  beauty,  of  English  bone  and  the  best  blood  of  Bar- 
bary — the  latter  manifested  in  the  clean  limb,  full  eye, 
and  coat  glancing  like  polished  copper  to  the  sunlight — 
naught  will  be  wanting  to  the  picture  of  the  traveller  who 
was  now  journeying  right  onward,  undismayed,  if  not  in 
credulous,  by  all  that  he  had  heard,  across  the  bleak  and 
barren  hills  which  skirt  the  southern  verge  of  Cam 
bridgeshire. 

The  season  was  that  usually  the  most  delicious  of  the 
English  year — the  bright  and  golden  days  of  early  autumn 
— when  the  promises  of  spring  and  summer  are  fulfilled  in 
the  rustling  harvest-field  and  the  rich  orchard,  and  before 
the  thoughts  of  change,  decay,  and  death  are  forced  up 
on  the  mind  by  the  sere  leaf  and  withered  herbage.  The 
day  had  been  mild  and  calm,  and,  though  evening  was 
far  advanced,  the  sun  was  still  shooting  his  slant  rays  over 
the  rounded  summits  and  grassy  slopes  of  the  low  hills 
through  which  the  ancient  Roman  way  holds  its  undevi- 
ating  course.  Ere  long,  however,  the  clouds  of  which  the 
landlord  had  spoken  as  gathering  so  darkly  to  the  west 
ward,  though  at  that  time  visible  only  in  a  narrow  streak 
along  the  edge  of  the  horizon,  began  to  rise  in  towering 
masses,  until  the  light  of  the  declining  day  was  first 
changed  to  a  dark  and  lurid  crimson,  and  then  wholly  in 
tercepted. 

After  a  while  the  wind,  which  had  been  slight  and  south 
erly,  veered  round  and  blew  in  fitful  squalls,  now  whirling 
the  dust  and  stubble  high  into  the  air,  and  then  subsiding 
into  a  stillness  that,  from  the  contrast,  seemed  unnatural. 
Such  was  the  aspect  of  the  night  when  the  sun  set;  and 
the  little  light  which  had  hitherto  struggled  through  in 
tervals  of  the  increasing  storm-cloud,  waned  rapidly  to  al- 


A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE.  15 

most  utter  darkness.  To  render  the  traveller's  position 
yet  less  enviable,  he  had  already  passed  the  open  country, 
and  was  now  involved  in  the  mazes  of  scattered  wood 
land,  which  in  the  seventeenth  century  overspread  a  large 
portion  of  that  country.  The  way,  too,  which  had  thus 
far  been  firm  and  in  good  order,  now  running  between 
deep,  hollow  banks,  resembled  rather  a  water-course  de 
serted  by  its  torrent,  than  a  public  thoroughfare  ;  so  that 
his  progress  was  both  slow  and  painful  until  he  reached 
the  banks  of  the  Cam — at  that  place,  as  throughout  much 
of  its  course,  a  strong  and  turbid  stream,  wheeling  along 
in  sullen  eddies,  between  shores  of  soft  black  loam.  Here 
daylight  utterly  deserted  him,  its  last  glimpse  barely  suf 
ficing  to  show  that  the  bridge  had  been  carried  away,  and 
that'  the  river  was  apparently  unfordable ;  since  a  miry 
track  wandered  away  from  the  brink  to  the  right  hand, 
as  though  in  search  of  a  place  where  it  might  pass  the  cur 
rent,  and  resume  its  natural  direction  to  the  northward. 

While  he  was  considering  what  course  it  would  be  most 
advisable  that  he  should  pursue,  a  few  large  heavy  drops 
of  rain  plashed  on  the  surface  of  the  gloomy  stream, 
warning  the  stranger  to  hasten  his  decision.  Then,  as  he 
turned  to  follow,  as  best  he  might,  the  devious  and  un 
certain  path  before  him,  the  windows  of  the  heavens 
were  opened,  and  down  came  the  thick  shower,  pattering 
on  the  thirsty  earth,  and  lashing  the  river's  bosom  into  a 
sheet  of  whitened  spray.  Thoroughly  drenched,  and  al 
most  hopeless  of  recovering  the  true  direction  of  his 
journey  until  the  return  of  daylight,  it  was  yet  not  a  part 
of  that  man's  character  to  hesitate,  much  less  to  falter  or  de 
spair.  Having  once  determined  what  it  would  be  for  the 
best  to  do,  he  turned  to  his  right  down  the  cart -way,  and 
resolutely  persevered  in  spite  of  wind,  rain,  and  dark 
ness,  though  it  oftentimes  required  the  full  exercise  of 
spur  and  rein  to  force  the  gallant  animal  which  he  be 
strode  against  the  furious  gusts  and  pelting  storm.  For 
a  weary  hour  or  more  he  plodded  onward,  feeling  his 
way,  as  it  were,  step  by  step,  and  guided  only  by  the 
flashes  of  broad  lightning  which  from  time  to  time  glared 
over  the  desolate  scene,  with  an  intensity  that  merely 
served  to  render  the  succeeding  gloom  more  dreary.  At 


16  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

length,  by  the  same  wild  illumination,  he  discovered  that 
his  path  once  more  turned  northward,  sinking  abruptly 
to  the  verge  of  that  black  river.  Of  the  farther  bank 
he  could  distinguish  nothing ;  and  though  for  many  min 
utes  he  awaited  the  return  of  the  electric  flash  before  at 
tempting  to  stem  the  unknown  ford,  with  that  singular 
perversity  which  even  things  inanimate  and  senseless  at 
times  seem  to  exhibit,  the  flashes  returned  no  more.  Still 
no  word  of  impatience  or  profanity  rose  to  his  lip,  as  he 
spurred  the  reluctant  mare  resolutely  down  the  steep  de 
scent,  holding  his  pistols,  which  he  had  drawn  from  their 
holsters,  high  above  his  head. 

At  the  first  plunge,  as  he  had  well  expected,  all  foot 
hold  was  lost,  and  nothing  remained  but  a  perilous  swim, 
not  without  considerable  risk  of  finding  an  impracticable 
bank  at  the  farther  side ;  but  whether  it  was  the  result 
of  skill  or  of  fortune,  or,  more  probably  than  either,  a 
combination  of  the  two,  after  a  few  rough  struggles  and 
a  scramble  through  the  tenacious  mire,  horse  and  man 
stood  in  safety  on  the  northern  verge.  Not  yet,  how 
ever,  could  the  adventures  of  that  night  be  deemed  at 
an  end ;  for,  having  once  deviated  from  it  during  the 
hours  of  darkness,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  recover  the  line 
of  the  high  road.  The  storm,  it  is  true,  after  a  while 
abated ;  and  the  by-path  into  which  he  struck  was  suffi 
ciently  hard  to  enable  the  cavalier  to  travel '  at  a  pace 
more  rapid  than  he  had  tried  since  quitting  Royston ; 
but,  notwithstanding  this,  so  much  time  had  been  lost, 
and  so  small  did  the  prospect  seem  of  reaching  his  desti 
nation,  or  indeed  any  other  village  at  which  to  pass  the 
night,  that  the  merciful  rider  was  beginning  to  occupy 
himself  in  searching  for  such  temporary  shelter  as  a  cat 
tle-shed,  or  the  lee-side  of  some  lonely  haystack  might  af 
ford,  when  his  eye  was  attracted  by  a  distant  light — now 
seen,  now  lost  among  the  young  plantations,  or  scattered 
belts  of  forest  which  checkered  everywhere  the  scenery. 

It  required  but  a  moment's  pause  to  discover  that  the 
light  was  in  a  motion,  and  at  a  smaller  distance  than  he 
had  at  first  conjectured;  and  though  there  might  have 
been  grounds  for  suspicion  and  distrust  to  the  weak  or 
timid,  in  the  place  and  manner  of  its  appearance,  quick 


A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE.  17 

ening  his  pace  to  a  gallop,  and  somewhat  altering  his 
course,  he  rode  straight  for  the  object.  Five  minutes 
brought  him  to  a  bank  and  ditch,  evidently  skirting  the 
road  of  which  he  was  in  quest.  The  clatter  of  the  horse's 
hoofs  as  he  leaped  the  trifling  obstacle,  and  landed 
safely  on  the  rough  pavement  of  the  Roman  way,  was,  it 
would  seem,  the  first  intimation  of  his  approach  that 
reached  the  bearers  of  the  light ;  for  ere  he  could  distin 
guish  more  than  the  figures  of  two  or  three  rude-looking 
countrymen,  one  of  them  bearing  on  his  shoulders  what 
resembled  the  carcass  of  a  deer,  it  was  either  extinguished 
altogether  or  suddenly  veiled  from  sight. 

"They  are  upon  us,"  cried  a  hoarse  voice,  "shoot, 
Wilkin  !  "  and  instantly  the  clang  of  a  steel  crossbow,  and 
the  whistle  of  the  heavy  bolt,  as  it  narrowly  missed  the 
rider's  ear,  showed  that  the  mandate  was  complied  with 
as  promptly  as  delivered. 

"Hold!  hold  your  hands!"  he  shouted,  "or  ye  will 
fare  the  worse.  Ye  know  me  not,  nor  care  I  aught  for 
ye." 

"  Fare  the  worse,  shall  we  ?  "  interrupted  the  other, — 
"  that  shall  we  see  anon.  Come  on,  brave  boys,  and 
down  with  this  proud  meddler  !  "  and  with  a  loud  fierce 
cry,  some  six  or  seven  men,  as  he  judged  from  the  sound 
of  their  footsteps,  rushed  against  him.  In  the  moment 
which  had  elapsed  since  the  first  outrage,  he  had  drawn 
his  sword,  and  was  already  on  his  guard ;  but  it  was  not 
destined  that  he  should  this  time  need  its  service ;  for 
just  as  he  reined  up  his  steed,  and  parried  the  first  blow 
aimed  at  him  with  a  bludgeon  or  quarter-staff,  the  quick 
tramp  of  coming  horsemen  was  heard  upon  the  road  be 
hind  him  ;  and  with  their  swords  drawn,  as  if  alarmed  by 
the  shout  of  his  assailants,  two  or  three  persons  galloped 
rapidly  to  his  assistance. 

"  What  knaves  be  these  ?  "  inquired  a  loud  and  disso 
nant  voice  from  the  foremost  of  the  new-comers,  as  the 
cavalier  fell  back  toward  his  welcome  rescuers.  "What 
knaves  be  these  that  raise  this  coil  on  the  highway?" 

"  Down  with  the  thieving  Girgashites  ! "  shouted  anoth 
er  of  the  riders,  ere  an  answer  could  be  rendered  to  the 
querist ;  and,  at  the  word,  he  fired  a  petronel  at  random, 


18  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

its  momentary  flash  displaying  the  marauders  struggling, 
as  best  they  might,  through  a  strong  blackthorn  fence, 
which  parted  the  road  from  a  wild  tract  of  coppice,  glade, 
and  woodland.  "  Deer-stealers,  Master  Oliver,"  he  con 
tinued,  reslinging  his  now  useless  weapon,  "  after  the 
herds  of  my  Lord  De  la  Warr.  But  I  have  scared  them 
for  the  nonce  ! " 

"  More  shame  to  thee,  Giles  Overton,"  cried  the  same 
voice  which  had  first  spoken,  "  and  more  sin  likewise,  to 
use  the  carnal  weapon  thus  in  causeless  strife  ;  setting  the 
precious  spirit  of  a  being  like  to  thyself,  or,  it  may  well 
be,  thy  better,  upon  the  darkling  venture  of  chance-med 
ley,  and  bartering  a  human  life  against  the  slaughter  of  a 
valueless  and  soulless  beast.  Go  to,  Giles  Overton,  see 
that  thou  err  not  in  the  like  sort  again !  But  art  thou 
hurt,  good  sir  ?"  proceeded  the  speaker,  turning  in  his 
saddle  toward  the  traveller,  for  whose  safety  he  had  come 
up  so  opportunely, — "  or  have  we,  by  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  who  may  in  this  —  if  it  be  not  presumptuous  in  me, 
considering  how  unprofitable  I  am,  and  the  mean  improve 
ment  of  my  talent,  so  to  judge  of  his  Avorkings  —  vouch 
safe  to  preserve  thee  for  a  chosen  vessel  —  have  we,  I 
would  say,  come  in  season  to  protect  thee  from  these  sons 
of  Ammon  ?  " 

"  Thanks  to  your  timely  aid,  fair  sir,"  replied  the  cava 
lier,  not  a  little  astonished  at  the  strange  address  of  his 
preserver;  for  he  had  but  recently  returned  to  his  native 
land  after  protracted  absence,  and,  at  the  time  of  his  de 
parture,  the  reign  of  the  saints  had  not  yet  commenced 
on  earth  — "  I  am  uninjured ;  and  now,  1  pray  you  to  in 
crease  yet  farther  this  your  kindness,  by  informing  me  the 
straightest  road  for  Huntingdon ;  it  cannot  be,  I  do  sup 
pose,  far  distant." 

"Good  lack  —  a  stranger,  by  your  questioning,"  an 
swered  he  who  had  been  called  Oliver;  "  Huntingdon  do 
I  know  right  well  —  ay  !  even  as  one  knoweth  the  taber 
nacle  of  his  abode,  and  the  burial-place  of  his  fathers;  but 
I  profess  to  you  that  it  is  distant  by  full  thirteen  miles, 
and  those  of  sorry  road.  But  ride  thou  on  with  me  to 
Bourn,  some  three  miles  farther,  and  I  will  bestow  thee 
at  a  house  where  thou  mayst  tarry  until  morn — the  Fox 


A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE.  19 

Tavern,  I  would  say  —  Phineas  Goodenough,  my  glove 
hath  fallen ;  I  pray  thee  reach  it  to  me  —  a  clean  house, 
truly,  kept  by  a  worthy  man  —  yea,  verily ;  a  good  man, 
one  that  dwelleth  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  alway." 

"  A  stranger  doubtless,"  returned  the  other,  "  else  had 
I  not  inquired  of  you  that  which  I  then  had  known ;  and, 
of  a  truth,  I  know  not  now  that  I  can  do  aught  better 
than  to  accept  your  proffer  frankly  as  it  is  made !  " 

"  Be  it  so !  "  was  the  ready  answer.  "  Will  it  please 
you  to  ride  somewhat  briskly  ?  for  myself,  I  am  bound  an 
hour's  ride  farther  to  worshipful  Master  Pyni's,  nigh 
Caldecote ! " 

"  Ha !  Pym,  the  friend  of  Hampden  and  John  Milton — 
I  knew  not  he  lived  hereabout,"  exclaimed  the  cavalier. 

"  And  what  knowest  thou,  so  I  may  ask  it,"  queried 
Oliver,  "of  Hampden  or  John  Milton?  Truly,  I  took 
thee  for  a  carnal-minded  person;  but,  of  a  surety,  it  is  not 
for  a  man  to  judge !  " 

"  For  what  it  liked  your  wisdom  to  mistake  me,  I  know 
not ;  nor,  to  speak  frankly,  do  I  care  greatly,"  replied  the 
other ;  "  but,  to  satisfy  your  question,  of  Hampden  I  know 
nothing,  save  that  the  mode  of  his  resistance  to  that  illegal 
claim  of  ship-money  hath  reached  my  ears,  even  where  the 
tongue  of  England  would  have  sounded  strangely.  John 
Milton,  if  it  concerns  you  anything  to  know  it,  was,  and 
that  too  for  many  months,  my  chosen  comrade  of  the 
road,  and  my  most  eloquent  tutor  in  the  classsic  lore  of 
Italy ! " 

"In  Italy,  saidst  thou?  In  Italy,  and  with  John  Mil 
ton  ?  "  answered  Oliver,  after  a  long  and  meditative  pause ; 
and,  as  he  continued,  his  own  voice  had  lost  much  of  its 
harshness,  and  his  manner  not  a  little  of  its  offensive  pecu 
liarity.  "  A  better  comrade  couldst  thou  not  have  chosen 
than  that  pure-minded  Christian,  that  most  zealous  patriot. 
Verily,  I  say  to  you,  that,  in  consorting  with  that  sancti 
fied,  elected  vessel,  you  must  needs  have  imbibed  some 
draughts  more  worthy  than  the  profane  and  carnal  lore 
of  those  benighted  heathens,  whose  bestial  and  idolatrous 
rites  are  even  now  to  be  found  corrupting  with  their  ac 
cursed  stench  the  faith  which  claims  to  be  of  Jesus,  even 
as  the  stinking  fly  poisoneth  the  salve  of  the  mediciner. 


20  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Verily  I  will  believe  that  he  hath  opened  unto  you  the 
door  of  that  wisdom  which  is  alone  all  in  all !  Ay !  and 
as  I  find  you  here  returning  hard  upon  his  heels,  even  as 
he  hath  of  late  returned  from  the  city  of  her  that  sitteth 
on  the  seven  hills,  clothed  in  the  purple  of  the  harlot,  may 
I  not  humbly  hope  —  I  would  say —  confidently  trust,  that 
you  will  also  draw  the  sword  of  truth  to  defend  this  sore- 
aggrieved  and  spirit-broken  people  from  the  tyrannous 
oppression  of  their  rulers,  and  the  self-seeking  idolatries 
of  those  that  sit  in  the  high  places  of  the  land ! " 

"Fair  sir,"  replied  the  cavalier,  "you  question  some 
what  too  closely ;  and  open  yourself,  methinks,  too  freely 
for  a  stranger.  That  I  come,  summoned  homeward  by 
the  rumor  of  these  unhappy  broils  between  our  sovereign 
and  his  parliament,  is  not  less  true  than  that  I  care  not 
either  to  conceal  or  deny  it !  Beyond  this  —  what  part 
soever  I  may  play  in  that  wrhich  is  to  come  —  pardon  my 
plainness,  sir,  I  do  not  deem  it  wisdom  to  discourse  with 
a  chance  customer.  N"or  have  I  yet  indeed  decided  what 
that  part  shall  be,  until  I  search  more  narrowly  the 
grounds,  and  so  find  out  my  way  'twixt  over  license  on 
the  one  hand,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  intemperance  on  the 
other,  and  too  fiery  zeal ! " 

"Edgar  Arden,"  returned  the  puritan,  his  naturally 
harsh  voice  subsiding  into  a  hollow  croak,  "  Edgar  Ar 
den  —  for  I  do  know  you,  though,  as  you  have  truly  spoken 
me,  a  stranger  —  I  tell  you  now,  this  nation  totters  on  the 
brink  of  a  most  strange  and  perilous  convulsion!  We  are 
the  instruments  —  vile  instruments,  it  is  true,  but  still  in 
struments —  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  holds  the  end  of 
all  things.  Watched  have  we,  and  prayed ;  yea,  WTestled 
with  him  in  the  spirit  for  a  sign,  and  lo !  a  sign  was  sent 
us.  It  may  be  we  shall  achieve  deliverance  for  our  coun 
try — freedom  from  corporeal  chains  and  spiritual  bon 
dage  !  It  may  be  we  shall  fail,  and,  failing,  seek  the  shel 
ter  of  that  New  Jerusalem  beyond  the  Western  Ocean, 
wherein  there  be  no  kings  to  lord  it  o'er  men's  conscien 
ces,  and  to  compel  them  how  to  worship  God !  But  fail 
we,  or  succeed,  the  sign  hath  been  given  to  us  from  on 
high,  and  therefore  shall  we. venture!  and  fail  we,  or  suc 
ceed  —  mark  my  words,  Edgar  Arden,  for  thou  shalt  think 


A  NOCTURNAL  AD  VENTURE.  21 

on  them  hereafter —  thy  lot  is  cast  with  ours !  Thy  spirit 
is  of  our  order,  thy  heart  is  with  us,  and  thy  tongue  shall 
be,  yea,  and  thy  sword,  likewise  ! " 

"  How  you  have  learned  my  name,  I  comprehend  not," 
answered  Arden,  for  so  must  he  be  styled  henceforth, 
veiling  whatever  of  suspicion  or  annoyance  he  might  feel 
beneath  the  semblance  of  calm  indifference  ;  "but,  were 
it  worth  the  while,  I  could  assure  you  that,  in  learning 
this,  you  have  learned  all !  What  part  you  play  in  this 
wild  drama, — whether  you  be  hypocrite  or  zealot,  patriot 
or  traitor,  I  care  nothing  ;  but,  if  we  meet  hereafter,  you 
will  find  that  neither  sophistry  nor  canting  can  affect  my 
head,  nor  the  dark  phrensy  of  fanaticism  reach  my  heart ! " 

"  We  shall  meet,"  answered  the  stranger ;  "  we  shall 
meet  again,  and  shortly !  and  then  shall  you  too  find 
whether  I  be  saint  or  hypocrite  — whether  I  be  patriot  or 
traitor !  —  and,  above  all,  then  shall  you  learn  if,  in  these 
things  that  I  have  spoken,  I  be  a  lying  prophet  or  a  true  ! 
But  lo  you  now — this  is  the  Fox  at  Bourn,  and  here 
comes  honest  Langton,  to  whose  good  offices  I  do  com 
mit  you ! " 

As  he  sp<  ke,  they  drew  up  their  horses  before  the  door 
of  the  litll.i  wayside  hostelry,  a  low  and  whitewashed 
tenement,  imbosomed  in  deep  woodlands,  and  nestling, 
as  it  were,  .".mid  the  verdant  foliage  of  jessamine  and 
woodbine  ;  while,  warned  already  of  their  coining  by  the 
clatter  of  ho<;-fs  and  the  sound  of  voices,  the  puritanic  per 
son  of  mine  h  >st,  bearing  on  high  a  huge  and  smoky  flam 
beau,  which  j.oured  its  red  light  far  into  the  bosom  of  the 
darkness,  stalked  forth  to  meet  them.  On  his  lean  and 
starveling  form,  however,  Arden  cast  but  a  passing  glance, 
being  employed  in  scrutinizing,  by  the  wild  illumination 
which  streamed  full  upon  them,  the  features  of  his  singu 
lar  companion  ;  who  had  paused  for  a  moment  to  allow 
his  horse  to  drink,  and  to  hold  a  whispered  conversation 
with  the  landlord. 

There  was,  however,  nothing  familiar  to  him,  though 
he  probed  his  memory  to  its  lowest  depth  of  youthful  re 
collections,  in  that  manly  yet  ungraceful  figure,  or  in  those 
lineaments,  harsh  and  ill-favored  to  the  verge  of  down 
right  ugliness.  Ill-favored  was  that  countenance  indeed, 


22  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

with  its  deeply-furrowed  lines  and  its  sanguineous  coloring; 
its  sunken  eyes,  twinkling  below  the  penthouse  of  the 
heavy  matted  brows ;  and  its  nose,  prominent,  rubicund, 
and  swollen.  Yet  was  there  a  world  of  thought  in  the 
expansive  temples  and  the  massive  forehead  —  an  ex 
pression  of  firmness  that  might  restrain  an  empire  in  the 
downward  curve  of  the  bold  mouth  —  and  a  general  air 
of  high  authority  and  indomitable  resolution  pervading 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  man. 

The  head  of  this  remarkable-looking  individual,  at  a 
period  when  the  greatest  attention  was  lavished  on  the 
hair  by  all  of  gentle  birth,  was  covered  with  coarse  locks, 
already  streaked  with  gray,  falling  in  long  disordered 
masses  on  either  cheek,  and  down  the  muscular,  short 
neck,  from  underneath  a  rusty  beaver,  steeple-crowned 
and  unadorned  by  feather,  loop,  or  tassel.  Instead  of  the 
cravat  of  Flanders  lace,  he  wore  a  narrow  band  of  soiled 
and  rumpled  linen ;  and  his  sword,  a  heavy  iron-hilted 
tuck,  was  not  suspended  from  a  scarf  or  shoulder-knot, 
but  girt  about  his  middle,  over  a  doublet  of  black  serge, 
by  a  belt  of  calf-skin  leather,  corresponding  to  the  mate 
rial  of  his  riding-boots,  which  were  pulled  up  above  the 
knee  to  meet  the  loose  trunk  hose,  fashioned,  as  it  would 
be  supposed,  by  some  country  tailor  from  the  same  un 
seemly  stuff  with  his  cloak  and  doublet. 

The  only  part  of  his  appointments  which  would  not 
have  disgraced  the  commonest  gentleman,  was  his  horse, 
a  tall  gray  gelding  of  great  power  and  not  a  little  breed 
ing  ;  yet  even  he  was  badly  accoutred  with  mean  and  sor 
did  housings.  Such  was  the  appearance  of  the  person 
whose  conversation  had  not  been  listened  to  by  Edgar 
Arden  without  interest ;  and  now  —  even  while  he  con 
fessed  to  him  self  that  the  man's  frame  and  features  entitled 
him  to  no  regard  as  a  person  of  superior  caste  or  bearing 
—  there  was  still  something  in  his  air  which  produced  an 
indescribable  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  cavalier,  forcing 
him,  as  it  were,  despite  his  senses,  to  admit  that  he  was  in 
somewise  remarkable,  above,  and  at  the  same  time  apart 
from,  ordinary  mortals,  and  not  unlike  to  one  who  might 
be  perchance  the  mover  of  great  changes  in  the  estate  of 
nations. 


A  NOCTURNAL  ADVENTURE.  23 

While  he  was  yet  gazing  on  him  with  ill-dissembled 
curiosity,  the  stranger,  in  his  loud  hoarse  notes,  bade  him 
adieu,  and,  striking  at  once  into  a  rapid  trot,  was  swal 
lowed  up  with  his  companions  in  the  surrounding  gloom. 
Arden,  after  a  fruitless  effort  at  ascertaining  from  the 
saintly  and  abstracted  publican  the  name  and  quality  of 
his  late  companion,  applied  himself  to  creature  comforts, 
as  the  landlord  termed  them,  of  a  higher  order,  and  to  a 
bed  more  neatly  garnished,  than  he  could  have  augured 
from  the  lowly  exterior  of  the  village  inn  ;  and  slept  as 
wearied  travellers  are  wont  to  do,  whose  minds  are  tran 
quil  and  serene,  until  the  sun,  high  in  the  heavens,  called 
him  to  resume  his  journey. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE      LADY     OF     HIS     LOVE. 


**  A  gentle  being,  delicately  fair, 
Full  of  soft  fancies,  timorous,  and  shy; 
Yet  high  of  purpose,  and  of  soul  so  firm, 
That  sooner  shall  you  the  round  world  unsphere, 
Than  warp  her  from  the  conscious  path  of  right 
A  bright  domestic  goddess,  formed  to  bless, 
And  soothe,  and  succor — oh  most  meet  to  be 
The  shrined  idol  of  a  heart  like  his."  ANOX. 

the  whole  of  the  two  following  days,  the  cava 
lier  journeyed  slowly  to  the  northward,  meeting  with  no 
adventures  worthy  of  remark,  and  through  scenes  which, 
though  beautiful  and  varied,  it  needs  not  to  describe  ;  and 
now  the  third  day  was  drawing  to  its  close,  since  his  en 
counter  with  his  strange  ally,  who,  it  must  be  said,  though 
he  did.  not  again  cross  his  path,  did  unquestionably  occupy 
his  mind  more  constantly  than  he  could  explain,  or  than 
he  altogether  liked  to  confess  even  to  himself. 

The  sun,  scarce  elevated  thrice  the  breadth  of  his  own 
disk  above  the  horizon,  was  now  almost  perceptibly  de 
clining  in  the  west,  though  he  still  darted  long,  pencilled 


24  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

rays  of  light  athwart  the  landscape  from  between  the 
folds  of  gauze-like  mist  which  veiled  his  splendors  from 
the  eye.  One  of  these  straggling  beams  —  while  others 
might  be  discerned  shedding  their  bright  influences  upon 
some  verdant  slope  or  twinkling  waterfall,  thus  rescued, 
although  miles  away,  from  the  hazy  indistinctness  that 
steeped  the  distant  hills,  and  rendered  prominent,  like 
epochs  marked  by  fame  amid  the  gloom  of  ages  else  for 
gotten —  found  its  way  into  a  nook  as  sweet  as  ever  poet 
sung  or  fairy  haunted.  It  was  an  angle  in  one  of  those 
broad  green  lanes  which  form  so  beautiful  a  feature  in  the 
rural  scenery  of  England.  Carpeted  with  deep  unfaded 
verdure,  through  which  meandered  a  faint  wheel-track ; 
bordered  by  hedges  so  thick  and  tangled  as  to  resemble 
natural  coppices  rather  than  artificial  fences ;  imbowered 
by  the  fragrant  honeysuckle,  and  spangled  with  the  dewy 
flowers  of  the  eglantine  ;  decked  with  the  golden  blos 
soms  of  the  broom,  the  fringe-like  brachens,  and  the 
flaunting  bells  of  the  white  and  crimson  fox-gloves ;  cano 
pied  by  the  foliage  of  the  broad-leaved  sycamore,  the 
gnarled  and  ivy-mantled  oak,  or  the  lighter  and  more 
graceful  ash  ;  and  watered  by  a  tiny  brooklet,  that  stole 
along,  now  on  one  side,  now  on  the  other,  of  the  rarely- 
trodden  path  —  here  trickling  over  its  many-colored  peb 
bles  with  a  mirthful  music,  there  silently  reflecting  the 
tufted  rushes  and  the  mossy  log  that  spanned  its  surface 
with  a  sylvan  bridge  —  that  solitary  nook  might  well 
have  furnished  forth  a  tiring-room  for  Shakspeare's  wild 
Titania. 

Nor,  though  the  days  of  Puck  and  Oberon  were  al 
ready  numbered  with  the  things  that  had  been,  even  in 
the  fancy  of  the  superstitious  villagers,  did  that  lone 
bower  lack  its  presiding  genius;  for  on  a  trunk,  cush 
ioned  with  hoary  lichens,  and  overlooking  a  crystal  basin 
formed  by  the  rill  which  undermined  its  tortuous  roots, 
and  had,  perchance,  in  bygone  ages,  caused  its  -decay 
and  ruin,  there  sat  a  female  form,  loveliest  among  the 
lovely,  so  deeply  buried  in  her  own  imaginings  that  she 
was  almost  as  unconscious  of  all  she  loolved  upon  as  the 
senseless  stump,  on  which  she  leaned  so  gracefully.  She 
was  a  girl  perhaps  of  twenty  summers ;  for,  looking  on 


THE  LADY  OF  HIS  LOVE.  25 

her,  it  had  been  impossible  to  reckon  save  by  summers, 
so  sunny  was  the  style  of  her  young  beauty.  On  either 
side  of  her  white  and  dazzling  forehead,  ringlets  in  rich 
exuberance  of  the  deepest  auburn — so  deep  that,  saving 
where  they  glittered  gold-like  in  the  sunshine,  they  might 
have  been  deemed  black- — fell  off  behind  her  ears  and 
wantoned  down  her  swan-like  neck ;  while,  in  the  luxury 
of  calm  abandonment,  her  velvet  hat,  dropped  by  her  side, 
lay  on  the  grass,  its  choice  plumes  dipping  in  the  pool. 
Her  eyes  were  bent  so  steadfastly  upon  the  waters  at  her 
feet,  that  it  was  by  the  long  dark  lashes  only,  pencilled 
in  clear  relief  against  the  delicate  complexion  of  her  cheek, 
that  they  could  be  judged  large,  and  suited  to  the  char 
acter  of  her  most  eloqueilt  features. 

Of  an  almost  marble  paleness,  with  scarce  a  rosy  trace 
to  tell  of  the  pure  blood  which  coursed  so  warmly  through 
those  thousand  azure  channels  that  veined  her  neck  and 
bosom,  there  was  yet  a  transparency,  a  glowing  hue  in 
her  fair  skin  that  spoke  of  all  the  lively  elasticity  of 
health ;  while,  to  remove  a  doubt,  if  doubt  could  have 
existed,  the  sweet  curve  of  that  small  mouth,  wooingly 
prominent,  was  tinged  with  the  rich  hue  of  the  dark  red 
carnation.  Though  Grecian  in  their  chiselled  outlines, 
there  yet  was  more  of  intellect  and  energy  in  the  expres 
sion  of  her  features  than  of  that  poetical  repose  which 
forms  the  general  character  of  the  classic  model.  Her 
shape,  as  she  reclined  along  her  rustic  couch,  though  of 
symmetrical  roundness,  was  rather  slight  than  full ;  and 
the  ankle,  displayed  somewhat  too  liberally  by  the  dis 
ordered  draperies  of  her  satin  riding-dress,  was  slender  as 
a  woodnymph's  might  be  fancied  by  a  poet,  while  her 
dimpled  chin  was  propped,  in  attitude  of  busy  thought, 
on  so  diminutive  a  hand  as  would  alone  have  proved  her 
pedigree  from  the  un conquered  race  of  Normandy.  Nor 
was  the  attitude  belied  by  aught  of  consciousness  or  co 
quetry,  for  all  betokened  the  deep  hush  of  natural  and  un 
studied  meditation. 

A  beautiful  white  palfrey,  with  decorated  rein  and  vel 
vet  housings,  which  stood  unfettered  at  her  side,  await 
ing,  docile  and  gentle  creature,  the  pleasure  of  his  mis 
tress,  would  stamp  and  toss  his  head  till  the  silver  bits 
B 


26  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

rang  audibly,  and  uttered  once  or  twice  a  tremulous 
neigh,  unheeded  at  the  least,  if  not  unheard.  A  vagrant 
spaniel  of  the  Blenheim  breed,  with  soft  dark  eyes,  and 
ears  that  almost  swept  the  ground  —  one  from  a  number 
that  had  followed  the  fair  girl,  and  now  dozed  listlessly 
upon  the  grass  around  her — had  been  for  some  time  rust 
ling  among  the  dewy  bushes,  and  now  sent  forth  a  shrill 
and  clamorous  yelping,  as  pheasant  after  pheasant  whirred 
up  on  noisy  wings  to  the  higher  branches,  whence  they 
crowed,  with  outstretched  necks,  defiance  to  their  pow 
erless  assailant.  Still  there  was  no  sign  in  the  demeanor 
of  the  lady  to  indicate  that  she  had  marked  the  sounds, 
harmonizing  as  they  did  with  the  spirit  of  the  place  and 
hour,  and  blending  naturally  with  the  low  of  the  distant 
cattle,  the  cawing  of  the  homeward  rooks,  and  the  contin 
uous  hum  of  the  myriad  insect  tribes  which  were  still  dis 
porting  themselves  in  the  September  sunset,  not  the  less 
merrily  that  their  little  glass  of  life  had  already  run  even 
to  its  latest  sands. 

But  a  noise  arose,  which,  in  itself  by  no  means  inhar 
monious,  was  not  so  much  attuned  to  the  rural  melodies 
around  but  that  it  jarred  discordantly  on  the  ear.  It  was 
the  clear  and  powerful  voice  of  a  man,  venting  his  feel 
ings,  as  he  rode  along — for  at  times  the  tramp  of  a  horse 
might  be  distinguished,  when  his  hoof  struck  upon  harder 
soil  than  common,  mingling  with  the  measured  tones  — 
suddenly  in  the  recital  of  such  passages  from  the  high 
poets  of  the  day  as  were  suggested  to  his  memory,  as  it 
seemed,  by  the  scenery  around  him.  At  first  the  accents 
were  indistinct  from  distance,  and  their  import  quite  in 
audible  ;  then,  as  the  speaker  drew  so  nigh  that  his  words 
might  partially  be  understood,  the  voice  ceased  altogeth 
er  ;  but  after  a  brief  pause  it  again  broke  forth  in  the 
pure  poetry  of  Drummond. 

"Thrice  happy  he.  who  by  some  shady  grove, 
Far  from  the  clamorous'worlrl.  doth  live  his  own, 
Though  solitary,  who  is  not  alone, 
But  doth  converse  with  that  eternal  love: 
O  how  more  sweet  is  bird's  harmonious  moan, 
Or  the  hoarse  sobbings  of  the  widowed  dove. 
Than  those  smooth  whispers  near  a  prince's  throne, 
Which  make  good  doubtful —  " 


THE  LADY  OF  HIS  LOVE.  27 

As  the  words  passed  his  lips  the  horseman  turned  the  last 
angle  of  the  winding  lane ;  and  for  the  first  time  discov 
ering  that  the  free  outpourings  of  his  spirit  had  found  a 
listener,  Edgar  Arden — for  the  moralist  was  no  other — 
paused  in  his  sonnet  and  checked  his  steed  by  a  common 
impulse,  and,  as  it  seemed,  a  single  movement.  His  eyes 
flashed  joyfully  as  they  met  the  large  and  azure  orbs 
which  the  fair  girl  had  raised  at  first  in  simple  wonder 
ment,  but  which  now  lightened  with  a  gleamy  radiance 
that  he  was  not  slow  to  construe  into  delighted  recog 
nition. 

"  Sibyl— sweet  Sibyl !— " 

"  Edgar,  can  it  indeed  be  you  ?  Welcome,  oh  welcome 
home ! " 

At  once,  without  a  moment's  interval,  the  words  burst 
forth  from  either  as  they  hastened  —  he  with  impetuous 
hurry  from  his  charger,  she  gathering  her  ruined  robes 
about  her,  and  rising  from  her  rustic  throne  with  the  un 
blushing  ease  of  conscious  modesty  —  to  manifest  their 
pleasure  at  this  unexpected  meeting.  Were  they  friends, 
or  kindred,  or  more  dearly  linked  than  either  by  the 
young  ties  of  holy,  unsuspicious,  and  unselfish  love  ? 
They  met ;  the  formal  fashions  of  the  day  would  scarcely 
have  allowed  the  gallant  to  fold  even  a  sister  to  his  bo 
som  ;  Edgar  clasped  her  not,  therefore,  in  the  arms  that 
evidently  yearned  to  do  so ;  but  with  a  polished  ease,  be 
lied  by  the  flushed  brow  and  frame  that  quivered  visibly 
with  eagerness,  himself  ungloving,  he  raised  her  white 
hand  to  his  lips,  which  dwelt  upon  it  even  too  fervently 
for  brotherly  affection. 

A  deep  blush,  glowing  the  more  remarkably  from  its 
contrast  to  her  wonted  paleness,  played  over  brow  and 
cheek,  and  was  visible,  though  with  a  fainter  hue,  even 
upon  her  neck  and  such  brief  portion  of  the  bosom  as 
might  be  descried  between  the  fringes  of  rich  lace  that 
edged  her  bodice,  but  she  expressed  neither  wonder  nor 
reluctance  at  his  familiar  greeting.  Though  the  small 
hand  trembled  in  his  grasp  with  a  perceptible  and  quick 
emotion,  it  was  not  withdrawn ;  nor,  while  he  gazed  upon 
those  eloquent  eyes  as  steadfastly  as  though  through  them 
he  would  have  read  the  inmost  feelings  of  the  spirit  that 


28  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

informed  them,  did  she  shrink  from  his  evident  though 
chastened  admiration.  A  moment  or  two  passed  before 
either  again  spoke  ;  it  might  be  that  their  passionate  feel 
ings  were  better  to  be  interpreted  from  silence  than  ex 
pressed  by  words — it  might  be  that  their  hearts  were  full 
to  overflowing,  and  that  they  dared  not  unlock  those  se 
cret  channels  lest  they  might  be  led  —  he  into  such  be 
trayal  of  his  feelings  as  is  deemed  weak  and  womanish  by 
the  great  mass  of  men,  themselves  too  calculating  or  too 
cold  to  feel  at  all  —  she  into  such  disclosure  of  her  soul's 
treasured  secret  as  oftentimes  is  censured,  and  not  per 
haps  unjustly,  as  at  the  least  impolitic,  if  not  immodest  or 
unmaidenly.  It  was,  however,  Sibyl  who,  with  the  deli 
cate  and  ready  tact  peculiar  to  her  sex,  first  broke  the  si 
lence,  which  had  endured  so  long  already  as  to  become 
almost  embarrassing;  and  as  she  spoke,  her  words  ex 
plained  their  relative  position,  although  it  might  even 
then  be  doubted  whether  the  full  extent  of  their  connec 
tion  was  divulged. 

"I  can  hardly,"  she  said,  in  those  low  and  musical 
notes  which  are  indeed  an  excellent  thing  in  woman — "  I 
can  hardly  trust  my  eyes,  dear  cousin,  when  they  tell  me, 
truant  as  you  are  and  traitor,  that  you  stand  bodily  be 
fore  me.  So  long  have  our  hearts  been  rendered  sick  by 
hope  deferred  —  so  often  have  we  gazed,  from  peep  of 
morn  till  the  sad  close  of  evening,  for  your  expected,  for 
your  promised  coming,  and  gazed  but  to  be  disappointed 
—  that  now,  when  you  have  truly  come,  we  had  ceased, 
not  to  hope,  indeed,  and  pray,  but  surely  to  expect." 

"  Oh,  Sibyl,  did  you  know  how  many  an  anxious 
thought,  how  many  a  bitter  pang  these  wearisome  de 
lays  have  cost  me,  you  would  pity  rather  than  upbraid." 

"  Fair  words,  good  cousin  Edgar,"  she  replied,  with  an 
arch  glance,  and  a  light  thrilling  laugh ;  "  fair  words,  and 
flowery  all !  and  with  such,  you  lords  of  the  creation,  as 
in  your  vanity  you  style  yourselves,  deem  you  can  wipe 
away  the  heaviest  score  of  broken  vows  and  perjured 
promises  from  the  frail  memories  of  us  poor,  deluded 
damsels.  But,  in  good  sooth,  I  marvel  not  that  you 
should  slight  poor  me,  when  you  have  questioned  nothing, 
and  that,  too,  after  a  three  years'  absence,  of  your  noble 


THE  LADY  OF  HIS  LOVE.  29 

father  ;  and  when  you  stand  here  dallying  within  a  scant 
mile  of  his  presence,  rounding  your  false  excuses  into  a 
credulous  lady's  ear.  For  shame,  sir !  for  my  part,  if  I 
felt  it  not,  then  would  I  feign  at  least  some  natural  af 
fection." 

"  Wild  as  thou  ever  wert,  fair  Sibyl,"  answered  Edgar,  a 
beautiful  smile  playing  over  his  grave  features,  and  re 
vealing  a  set  of  teeth  even  and  white  as  ivory  ;  "  I  hoped, 
when  I  beheld  you  so  pensive  and  so  melancholy,  musing 
beside  yon  lonely  pool,  that  years  growing  toward  matu 
rity  might  have  brought  something  of  reflection  to  tame 
those  girlish  spirits  —  but,  in  good  faith,  I  should  have 
known  you  better.  But  am  I  not  assured,  were  it  but  by 
your  being  here  so  blithe  and  beautiful,  that  all  goes  well 
at  home  ?  " 

"  Well  parried,  if  not  honestly,"  still  laughing,  she  re 
plied  ;  "  and  for  your  taunts  on  my  demeanor,  I  defy  you! 
But  help  me  to  my  horse,  sir  loiterer,  and  we  will  home 
ward  ;  for  I  do  believe,  despite  your  manifold  enormities, 
that  you  would  fain  see  those  who,  to  your  shame  be  it 
spoken,  will  feel  more  joy  to  greet  you,  than  you  have 
shown  alacrity  to  do  so  much  as  ask  of  their  well  being. 
I  warrant  me,  if  you  had  met  Sir  Henry  first,  you  had 
not  once  inquired  whether  poor  I  were  in  existence." 

In  another  moment  the  lady  was  mounted  on  her  white 
palfrey,  and,  with  the  cavalier  beside  her  bridle-rein,  rode 
toward  her  home  more  joyously  than  she  had  done  for 
many  a  month  before.  Not,  however,  in  loud  mirth,  nor 
even  in  the  sprightly  raillery  which  she  had  adopted  on 
their  first  meeting,  Avas  her  happiness  divulged  to  com 
mon  ears ;  but  her  soft  eyes,  dwelling  fondly  oh  the  fea 
tures  long  unseen  of  her  accepted  and  acknowledged 
lover,  though  they  were  lowered  modestly  so  often  as 
they  caught  his  answering  glances — with  the  subdued  and 
quiet  tones  of  her  melodious  voice  as  they  conversed  of 
old  home  scenes  and  sweet  familiar  recollections,  more  en 
deared  to  them,  all  trivial  as  they  were,  than  loftier  mem 
ories  —  were  confirmations  strong  as  an  angel's  voice  of 
her  unchanged  affection. 

It  was  but  a  short  ride  homeward,  rendered  shorter  yet 
to  them  by  the  enjoyment  for  so  long  a  time  unused, 


30  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

though  not  forgotten,  of  each  other's  converse,  by  the 
sweet  consciousness  of  mutual  love,  and  by  the  full  expan 
sion  of  their  feelings,  unrestrained  by  the  cold  formalities 
of  that  most  heartless  intercourse  which  men  have  styled 
society,  and  untrammelled  by  any  chains  save  those  in 
stinctive  bonds  of  pure  and  delicate  propriety  which  no 
ble  natures  ever  wear  about  them  in  the  guise  of  flowery 
garlands,  gracing,  while  they  dignify,  the  motions  which 
they  in  no  respect  impede.  Passing  for  a  mile  or  so 
through  the  windings  of  that  verdant  lane,  here  rendered 
almost  gloomy  by  the  shadows  of  occasional  woodlands 
which  it  traversed,  here  running  past  the  door  of  some  se 
cluded  cottage,  its  thatched  porch  overhung  with  bower- 
ing  creepers,  and  its  narrow  garden  gay  with  tall  holly 
hocks  and  ever  blooming  peas,  and  here  looking  forth 
from  intervals  in  the  tall  hedges  over  some  sunny  stubble- 
field,  on  which  the  golden  shocks  stood  fair  and  frequent, 
or  some  deep  pasture,  its  green  surface  dotted  with  sleek 
and  comely  cattle,  they  reached  a  rustic  gate  of  unbarked 
timber,  woven  into  fantastic  shapes,  and  through  it 
gained  admittance  into  a  demesne,  as  rich  as  ever  was 
transmitted  by  its  first  winner  of  the  bloody  hand  to  a 
long  line  of  undegenerate  posterity. 

Even  to  the  wandering  and  homeless  stranger  there  is 
a  calm  and  quiet  joy  in  the  stately  solitude  of  an  English 
park  ;  in  its  broad,  velvet  lawns,  sloping  verdantly  away, 
studded  with  noble  clumps,  or  solitary  trees  more  noble 
yet,  down  to  the  verge  of  some  pellucid  lake  or  brimful 
river ;  in  its  swelling  uplands,  waving  with  broom  and 
brachens,  sweet  haunt  for  the  progeny  of  the  timid  doe, 
whence  glitter  frequently  the  white  stems  of  the  birch  or 
the  red  berries  of  the  mountain  ash ;  in  the  wild  belling 
of  the  deer,  heard  from  some  rock-ribbed  glen,  where 
they  have  sheltered  during  the  hot  noontide  ;  in  the  coo 
ing  of  the  pigeon,  or  the  repeated  tap  of  the  green  wood 
pecker  ;  in  the  harsh  cry  of  the  startled  heron,  soaring  on 
his  broad  vans  from  the  sedgy  pool  before  the  intruder's 
footstep ;  in  the  lazy  limp  of  the  pastured  hares,  and  in  the 
whirr  of  the  rising  covey.  What  then  must  be  the  feel 
ing  summoned  by  the  same  picture  to  the  heart  of  one 
who  hears  in  every  rural  sound,  and  witnesses  in  every 


THE  LADY  OF  HIS  LOVE.  31 

syl  van  scene,  the  melodies  that  soothed  his  earliest  slum 
ber,  and  the  sights  that  nursed  his  youngest  meditations? 
To  him  those  stately  solitudes  are  peopled  with  a  thou 
sand  holy  recollections ;  the  step,  perchance,  of  a  de 
parted  mother  still  roams  beneath  those  immemorial  trees ; 
her  musical  voice  still  speaks  to  his  heart  audibly,  and  in 
the  very  tones  his  childhood  loved,  when  all  its  cares  were 
hushed ;  to  him  each  bosky  bourn  and  twilight  dingle  has 
its  memory  of  boyish  exploit,  each  murmuring  rill  of  boy 
ish  revery. 

Home  —  home — hackneyed  as  is  the  thought  and  time- 
worn  —  what  a  world  of  treasured  sweetness  is  there  in 
that  one  word,  Home !  The  humblest  as  the  highest  — 
in  sorrow  as  in  mirth  —  to  the  needy  exile  as  to  the  suc 
cessful  adventurer — for  ever  dear,  for  ever  holy.  Crowd 
ed  out  perhaps  from  the  selfish  spirit  by  the  bustle,  the 
tumult,  the  conflict  of  the  day  —  but  still  returning  with 
undiminished  force  when  the  placid  influence  of  night  and 
slumber  shall  have  stilled  the  fitful  fever,  and  restored  to 
the  sullied  heart,  for  one  short  hour,  the  purity  it  knew 
of  yore.  Oh !  if  there  be  on  the  broad  face  of  earth  the 
wretch  that  loves  not,  with  an  unquenchable  and  ever- 
living  love,  the  native  home  —  curse  him  not  when  ye 
meet,  he  is  accursed  already.  Vindictive  men  have  warred 
against,  ambitious  men  have  sacrificed,  and  sordid  men 
have  sold,  their  countries  ;  but  these,  ay,  each  and  all  of 
these,  if  we  could  read  their  souls,  have  had  their  mo 
ments  of  repentant  thought,  their  moments  of  triumph 
ant  fondness. 

What  then  must  have  been  the  feelings  of  a  mind  like 
that  of  Arden — a  mind  coupling  the  severe  and  disci 
plined  philosophy  of  schools  with  the  warm  and  wild  ro 
mance  of  a  poetic  fancy  —  a  mind  which  had  learned  wi.s- 
dorn  without  learning  vice,  amid  the  fierce  pleasures  ami 
the  fiercer  strife  of  a  licentious  world  —  a  mind  no  less  un 
selfish  than  it  was  reasoning  and  regular  —  a  mind,  filled 
with  the  beautiful  principles  of  that  universal  love,  which 
is  honor,  and  patriotism,  and  every  shape  of  virtue  — 
virtue,  not  cold  in  itself,  as  the  wicked  sav?  an(^  chilling 
all  things  that  it  touches,  but  genial,  and  enlivening,  and 
warm  with  every  generous  aspiration  ?  What  must  have 


32  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

been  the  feelings  of  the  man,  endowed  with  f  ach  a  mind, 
returning  to  his  unforgotten  home  from  years  of  restless 
wandering,  in  pursuit,  not  of  the  idol  mammon,  not  of 
the  phantom  fame,  but  of  that  high  philosophy  which  is 
derived  from  the  perusal  of  men,  not  books;  which  is 
learned,  not  in  the  solitary  chamber  nor  by  the  midnight 
lamp,  but  on  the  tented  field  and  in  the  dazzling  court,  at 
the  banquet  and  the  masque,  amid  the  treacheries  of  men 
and  the  wilier  fascinations  of  beauty;  as  he  was  riding 
once  again,  after  years  of  absence,  by  the  bridle  of  his 
own  betrothed,  through  the  very  fields  in  which  he  had 
won,  years  before,  her  virgin  heart,  and  hastening  to  the 
embrace  of  a  father,  whom,  much  as  he  revered  and  hon 
ored  him,  he  loved  yet  more  ?  Who  may  describe  that 
wonderful  and  deep  sensation,  that  tincture  of  joy  and 
sorrow,  of  bitterness  and  pleasure,  which  must  be  mingled 
to  make  up  the  draught  of  human  happiness,  exhibited  no 
less  in  the  gashing  tear  than  in  the  glittering  smile  —  in 
the  choked  voice  and  suffocating  spasm,  than  in  the  flash 
ing  eye  and  the  exulting  pulse  ? 

Enough  —  he  was  for  the  moment  happy,  absolutely 
and  —  if  aught  mortal  may  be  called  perfect  —  perfectly 
happy.  The  antiquated  hall  broke  on  his  sight  as  he 
passed  a  belt  of  sheltering  evergreens,  its  tall  Elizabethan 
chimneys  sent  their  columns  of  vaporous  smoke  far  up  into 
the  calm  heaven ;  its  diamond-paned  oriels  glowed  like 
sheets  of  fire  to  the  reflected  sun ;  its  hospitable  porch 
yawned  to  admit  stranger  or  guest  alike  with  kindly 
welcome  ;  its  freestone  terraces  were  peopled  by  a  group 
of  lazy  grayhounds  basking  on  the  steps,  and  a  score  or 
two  of  peacocks  perched  upon  the  balustrades,  like  the 
ornaments  of  an  eastern  throne,  or  strutting  to  and  fro  on 
the  broad  flag-stones  in  all  their  pride  of  gorgeous 
plumage. 

He  saw — he  had  no  words  —  but  his  gentle  companion 
might  perceive  his  nether  lip  to  quiver  with  strong  emo 
tion,  and  a  tear,  unrestrained  by  selfish  pride,  to  trickle 
down  his  manly  cheek.  A  heavy  bell  rang  out ;  there 
was  a  bustle,  and  a  rush  of  many  servitors,  badged  and 
blue-coated  men,  with  hoary  heads  and  tottering  limbs, 
the  heir-looms  of  the  family,  transmitted,  with  the  ances- 


THE  LADY  OF  HIS  LOVE.  33 

tral  armor  and  the  ancient  plate,  from  sire  to  son.  With 
difficulty  extricating  himself  from  the  familiar  greeting 
of  these  domestic  friends,  he  hurried  up  the  steps  ;  but, 
ere  he  crossed  the  threshold,  a  noble-looking  man,  far 
past  the  prime  of  life,  as  might  be  seen  from  his  long 
locks  already  streaked  with  wintry  hues  of  age,  but  vig 
orous  still  and  active,  fell  upon  his  neck  with  a  quick 
shrill  cry,  "  My  son  !  my  son  !  "  the  hot  tears  gushing 
from  his  eyes  —  not  that  he  mourned,  but  that  he  did  re 
joice  —  to  borrow  the  magnificent  words  of  the  Greek 
lyrist — "  as  he  beheld  his  chosen  offspring,  the  stateliest 
of  the  sons  of  men." 


CHAPTER  III. 

A     POET     AND     A     PATRIOT. 

Great  men  liave  been  among  us:  hands  that  penned 

And  tongues  that  uttered  wisdom,  better  none; 

The  later  Sidney,  Marvel,  Harrington, 

Young  Vane,  and  others  who  called  Milton  friend; 

These  moralists  could  act  and  comprehend; 

Thejr  knew  how  genuine  glory  was  put  on  ; 

Taught  us  how  rightfully  a  nation  shone 

In  splendor;  what  strength  was,  that  would  not  bend 

But  in  magnanimous  weakness. 

WOBDSWOKTH — Sonnets  to  Liberty. 

IT  was  a  beautiful  and  tranquil  evening ;  the  broad 
bright  hunter's  moon  was  riding  through  the  cloudless 
firmament,  bathing  the  whole  expanse  of  heaven  with  a 
radiance  so  pervading,  that  the  numberless  stars  were 
well-nigh  quenched  in  her  more  lustrous  glory.  It  was 
one  of  those  evenings  on  which  we  cannot  gaze  without 
comparing  the  pure  and  passionless  quiet  of  the  world 
above  with  the  fierce  solicitudes,  the  selfish  strife,  the  an 
gry  turmoil  of  the  world  around  us  —  one  of  those  even 
ings  which  at  any  time  must  infuse  a  sentiment  of  peace 
ful  melancholy  into  every  bosom,  even  of  the  wild  and 
worldly ;  but  which  has  at  no  time  so  deep  an  influence 
on  the  spirit  as  when  contemplated  from  the  near  vicinity 
of  some  large  city.  The  contrast  between  the  chaste 
B*  3 


34  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

paleness  of  those  celestial  lamps,  and  the  ruddy  glare  of 
the  comparatively  lurid  lights  glancing  from  many  a  case 
ment, —  bet  ween  the  perfect  calm  aloft,  unbroken  save  by 
the  gentle  murmur  of  the  wind,  and  the  confused  uproar 
below,  rife  with  the  din  of  commerce,  the  dissonance  of 
mingled  tongues,  and  now  a  distant  scream,  and  now  a 
burst  of  unmelodious  laughter,  must  needs  impress  more 
strongly  on  the  mind  than  aught  of  homily  or  lecture,  that 
dissatisfaction  with  the  mortal  world,  and  the  wretched 
things  its  tenants, —  that  ardent  and  inexplicable  yearning 
alter  something  of  truer  and  more  substantial  happiness  than 
we  can  here  conceive, —  that  wish  for  "  wings  like  a  dove, 
that  we  might  flee  away  and  be  at  rest," —  which  consti 
tutes  perhaps  the  most  essential  difference,  as  exhibited 
on  earth,  between  ourselves  and  the  yet  lower  animals, 
content  to  fatten  and  to  perish. 

Such  was  not  improbably  the  strain  of  thought  into 
which  the  aspect  of  the  night  had  led  one  —  a  man,  not 
yet  advanced  beyond  the  prime  of  life,  of  elegant  though 
low  proportions  —  who  stood  gazing  heavenward  as  he 
leaned  against  the  low  wall  of  a  pleasant  garden,  which, 
surrounded  with  its  tall  hedges  of  clipped  yew  and  horn 
beam,  its  gay  parterres,  and  its  pleached  bowery  walks,  a 
fair  suburban  villa,  situate  in  what  was  then,  as  now, 
termed  Aldersgate,  though  at  that  period  not  a  densely- 
peopled  thoroughfare,  but  a  long  straggling  street,  half 
town  half  country,  with  leafy  elms  lining  the  public  way, 
and  many  a  cultivated  nursery  and  many  a  grassy  pad 
dock  intervening  between  the  scattered  dwellings  of  the 
retired  trader  or  the  leisure-loving  man  of  letters. 

The  countenance  of  this  person,  as  it  was  directed  up 
ward  with  a  pensive,  wistful  gaze  toward  the  melancholy 
planet,  receiving  the  full  flood  of  its  lustre,  was  singular 
for  softness  and  attraction.  He  wore  no  covering  011  his 
head,  and  his  luxuriant  tresses  of  light  brown  hair,  evenly 
parted  on  the  foretop,  hung  down  in  silky  waves  quite  to 
his  shoulders.  The  hues  of  his  complexion,  delicately 
colored  as  a  woman's,  and  the  somewhat  sleepy  expression 
of  his  full  gray  eye,  accorded  well  with  the  effeminate 
arrangement  of  his  locks,  and  indeed  entitled  him  to  be 
considered  eminently  handsome ;  for  there  was  so  much 


A  POET  AND  A  PATRIOT.  35 

of  intellect  and  of  imagination  in  the  forehead,  low  but 
expansive,  and  so  many  lines  of  thought  about  the  slightly- 
sunken  cheeks,  now  faintly  traced  and  transient,  but 
which  would,  with  the  advance  of  years,  increase  to  fur 
rows,  that  the  softer  traits,  while  adding  to  the  beauty, 
detracted  nothing  from  the  dignity  and  manhood  of  his 
aspect.  His  form,  though  low  and  small,  was  yet  com 
pact  and  muscular,  affording  promise  of  that  powerful 
agility  which  is  often  paramount  even  to  superior  strength 
in  the  use  and  skill  of  weapons.  Neatly  clad  in  a  loose 
coat  of  dark  gray  cloth,  with  vest  and  hose  of  black,  cut 
plainly  without  lace  or  fringe ;  and,  above  all,  not  wear 
ing  even  the  common  walking-sword,  at  that  time  carried 
throughout  Europe  by  all  of  gentle  rank,  the  meditative 
loiterer  would  have  excited  little  or  no  attention  among 
the  greater  body  of  mankind,  ever  caught  by  the  glitter, 
and  deluded  by  the  glare,  but  careless  as  it  is  undiscern- 
ing  of  true  merit,  when  harbingered  to  its  opinion  by 
naught  of  pride  or  circumstance.  He  might  have  been  an 
artisan  or  merchant  of  the  city,  but  that  the  slouched  hat, 
lying  with  a  staff  of  ebony  beside  him  on  the  wall,  dis 
tinguished  him  from  the  flat-capped  dwellers  to  the  east 
of  Temple  Bar ;  while  his  hands,  which  were  delicately 
white,  and  tender  as  a  lady's,  showed  that  they  had  never 
been  exercised  in  the  ungentle  labor  of  a  mechanic 
calling. 

But,  stronger  even  than  these  tokens,  there  was  that 
vivid  and  inexplicable  impress  of  exalted  genius,  that  look 
ing  forth  of  the  immortal  spirit  from  the  eyes,  that  strange 
mixture  of  quiet  melancholy  with  high  enthusiasm,  per 
vading  all  his  features,  which  must  have  made  it  evident 
to  any  moderately  keen  observer,  that  figure  or  decora 
tion  could  be  but  of  small  avail  when  considered  as  the 
mere  appendages  to  such  a  mind. 

He  stood  a  while  in  silence  though  his  lips  moved  at 
intervals,  perusing  the  bright  wanderers  of  heaven  with 
a  gaze  as  fixed  and  yearning  as  if  his  spirit  would  have 
looked  beyond  them,  through  the  empyrean,  into  the  very 
tabernacle  and  abode  of  the  Omnipotent.  At  length  he 
spoke  articulately,  in  a  voice  deep,  slow,  majestic,  and 
melodious,  but  in  the  unconscious  tones  of  one  who  rnedi- 


36  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

tates  or  prays  aloud,  without  reference  or  respect  to  aught 
external. 

"Beautiful  light,"  he  said;  "beautiful  lamp  of  heaven 
—  what  marvel  that  the  blinded  and  benighted  heathen 
should  ignorantly  worship  thee  ?  What  marvel  that  a  thou 
sand  altars,  in  a  thousand  ages,  should  have  sent  up  their 
fumes  of  adoration  unto  thee  the  mooned  Ashtaroth,  unto 
thee  the  Taurican  Diana,  unto  thee  the  nightly  visitant  of 
the  young-eyed  Endymion  ?  What  marvel  that  to  those  who 
knew  not,  neither  had  they  heard  of  the  One,  Uncreate, 
Invisible,  Eternal,  thou  shouldst  have  seemed  meet  Deity 
to  whom  to  bend  the  knee, —  thou  first-born  offspring  of 
his  first-created  gift — thou  blessed  emanation  from  his 
own  celestial  glory — when  I,  his  humble  follower,  his  ar 
dent  though  unworthy  worshipper, — when  I,  an  honest 
though  an  erring  Christian,  do  strive  in  vain  to  wean  my 
heart  from  love  of  thee  ;  indoctrinating  so  my  spirit  that 
I  may  kiss  the  rod  with  which,  I  am  assured  too  well,  HE 
soon  will  chastise  me,  in  changing  the  fair  light,  that  glo 
rious  essence  in  which  my  soul  rejoiceth,  for  one  black, 
everlasting,  self-imparted  midnight  ?  Yet  so  it  shall  be. 
A  few  more  revolutions  of  these  puissant  planets, —  a  few 
more  mutations  of  the  sweet-returning  seasons, —  and  to 
me  there  shall  be  no  change  again  on  earth  forever !  No 
choice  between  the  fairest  and  the  foulest !  No  differ 
ence  of  night  or  day !  No  charm  in  the  rich  gorgeous- 
ness  of  flowery  summer  above  the  sere  and  mournful 
autumn !  No  cheery  aspect  in  the  piled  hearth  of  winter! 
No  sweet  communion  with  the  human  eye  compassionate ! 
No  intercourse  with  the  great  intellects  of  old,  dead,  yet 
surviving  still  in  their  sublime  and  solid  pages ! " 

He  paused  for  a  space,  as  though  he  were  too  deeply 
moved  to  trust  his  thoughts  to  language  ;  but,  after  a 
moment,  drawing  his  hand  across  his  eyes  — 

"But  if  it  be  so,"  he  continued,  "as  I  may  not  doubt 
it  will — if  his  iiat  be  pronounced  against  me  of  dark  cor 
poreal  blindness,  what  duty  yet  remains?  What — but 
to  labor  that  the  blindness  be  not  mental  also?  What — 
but  to  treasure  up  even  now,  during  my  brief-permitted 
time,  such  stores  of  hoarded  wisdom  as  may  in  part  suf 
fice,  like  to  the  summer-gathered  riches  of  the  industrious 


A  POET  AND  A  PATRIOT.  37 

and  thrifty  bee,  to  nourish  and  to  cheer  me  at  the  coming 
of  my  sunless  season?  What  —  but  to  profit,  even  as 
best  I  may,  by  those  good  opportunities  which  his  great 
mercy  hath  vouchsafed  to  me  ;  to  sow  the  seed  even  now, 
during  the  fertile  autumn,  that  by  his  blessing  it  may 
swell  and  germinate  during  the  brumal  darkness  of  the 
approaching  winter,  and  in  his  good  time  give  forth  to 
light  a  crop  improved  and  gloriously  surpassing  that  from 
which  it  sprung  ?  What  —  but  to  give  thanks  alway,  and 
to  praise  the  tender-heartedness  and  loA7e  of  Him,  to  whom 
it  were  no  harder  task  to  plunge  the  mind  in  lunatic  and 
senseless  stupor,  than  to  seal  up  the  fount  of  light  to  the 
poor  eye.  Of  Him,  who,  giving  all  the  thousand  blessings 
I  enjoy,  judges  it  fitting  to  deprive  me  but  of  one,  haply 
that  from  its  single  loss  others  may  fructify,  and  bear  good 
harvest  to  my  use  ?  Wherefore,  oh  merciful  and  mighty 
One,  be  it  unto  me  as  thou  wiliest,  and  thou  only.  And 
oh !  above  all  things,  bo  it  unto  me,  as  now,  so  alway, 
humbly  to  cry,  and  happily,  Thy  will  be  done." 

Even  as  ihe  pious  scholar  brought  his  meditations  to  a 
close,  the  loot-steps  of  some  person  approaching,  though 
still  unseen,  through  the  mazes  of  the  shrubbery,  were 
heard  upon  the  crisp  and  crackling  gravel ;  and,  ere  he 
had  resumei !  his  hat,  which  was  steeple-crowned  and  of 
the  puritanic  fashion,  the  intruder  made  his  appearance, 
in  the  guise  of  an  humbly-clad  and  grave-eyed  serving- 
man,  who  announced  in  phrase  ungarnished  by  much  form 
of  reverence  toward  his  master,  the  presence  of  three  gen 
tlemen  within,  praying  to  speak  with  him. 

"  In  faith,"  r<  turned  the  other,  "  in  faith,  good  Andrew, 
'tis  an  unseasonable  hour  for  visitants !  Who  be  these 
gentles  ?  " 

"  Master  Cromwell  is  among  them,"  answered  the  at 
tendant  ;  "  but  the  rest  I  know  not,  save  that  I  heard  the 
name  of  St.  John  pass  between  them.  They  await  your 
coming  in  the  summer  parlor." 

Without  farther  query  or  reply,  the  scholar,  as  if  satis 
fied  that  his  presence  was  indeed  required,  traversed  the 
garden  with  quick  steps ;  and  entering  the  house,  a  small 
but  cheerful  dwelling,  through  an  entrance  hung  round 
with  maps  and  charts  of  statistics  or  chronology,  passed  to 


38  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  chamber  in  which  his  guests  expected  him.  It  was  a 
pleasant  room,  with  a  bay-window  looking  upon  the  gar 
den,  but  cheaply  decorated  with  hangings  of  green  serge, 
to  which  a  splendid  organ,  by  the  first  maker  of  the  day, 
and  a  choice  collection  of  rare  books,  several  of  the  num 
ber  being  manuscripts  on  vellum  of  great  worth,  afforded 
a  remarkable  contrast.  In  the  recess  formed  by  the  win 
dow  there  stood  a  reading-desk,  curiously  carved  in  old 
black  oak,  with  cushions  of  green  velvet,  somewhat  the 
worse  for  wear,  supporting  a  noble  folio  Bible  in  the 
Greek  text  of  Geneva,  The  table  was  loaded  with  a 
heterogeneous  mass  of  books  and  papers,  an  original 
manuscript  of  the  Bacchae  of  Euripides,  reposing  on  a  He 
brew  copy  of  the  Septuagint,  and  a  stray  duodecimo  of 
Petrarch's  sonnets,  marking  the  place  at  which  the  reader 
had  half-closed  the  pages  oi'  a  huge  tome  of  controversial 
divinity ;  while,  on  a  marble  slab  opposite  the  chimney, 
lay  a  couple  of  foils,  with  their  wire  masks  and  gloves, 
partially  hidden  by  the  draperies  of  a  threadbare  mantle 
of  black  velvet ;  a  violin,  a  guitar,  some  written  music, 
and,  peering  out  from  beneath  the  whole,  the  iron  basket- 
hilt  and  glittering  scabbard  of  a  heavy  broadsword. 

In  this  the  student's  sanctum,  he  found  the  three  gen 
tlemen  who  had  been  announced,  evidently  engaged  in 
whispered  conversation  of  deep  import,  for  they  did  not 
perceive  the  presence  of  their  host,  till  he  had  stood  for  a 
moment  or  two  almost  beside  them.  He  had  thus  ample 
opportunity  of  examining  their  persons,  by  the  light  of  a 
brazen  lamp  of  antique  form,  with  several  burners,  which 
hung  from  the  ceiling  immediately  above  the  abstracted 
group.  Nearly  opposite  the  door,  with  his  searching 
eyes  fixed  upon  another  of  the  company,  who  was  speak 
ing  with  considerable  emphasis,  though  in  an  under  tone, 
stood  the  same  individual  who  had  assisted  Artlen  on  the 
night  of  his  adventure  near  to  Royston  ;  wearing  the  very 
garb  in  which  he  had  appeared  on  that  occasion,  save  that, 
for  his  riding-boots,  he  had  substituted  a  pair  of  coarse 
gray  woollen  stockings,  drawn  tight  to  the  mid-thigh, 
with  ill-blacked  shoes  of  calf-skin,  laced  to  the  instep,  and 
bearing  neither  rose  nor  buckle. 

The  speaker,  to  whose  words  he  was  giving  careful 


A  POET  AND  A  PATH! 01.  39 

heed,  was  a  tall  and  slender  person,  handsomely,  though 
gloomily  attired  in  a  full  suit  of  black,  with  silken  hose 
and  velvet  cloak  to  match,  a  mourning  rapier  hanging  at 
his  side,  though  evidently  worn  for  fashion  rather  than 
for  use.  His  countenance,  though  not  of  pleasant  favor, 
much  less  such  as  could  be  termed  handsome,  was  never 
theless  one  from  which  men  could  not  easily  withdraw 
their  eyes,  possessing  attributes  of  unquestionable  talent, 
though  accompanied  by  an  expression  which  none  so  dull 
but  they  would  wish  to  fathom.  His  eyes,  which  were 
large  and  black,  had  a  bright  and  flashing  glance  when 
under  the  influence  of  excitement,  almost  painful  to  the 
beholder ;  while  a  continual,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  in 
voluntary  sneer,  sat  on  his  thin  and  writhing  lip.  His 
hair,  black  as  the  raven's  wing,  was  long  and  curling, 
though  not  worn  after  the  flowing  fashion  of  the  cava 
liers  ;  but  the  most  remarkable  trait  of  his  aspect  was  the 
immovable  gloom  which  overshadowed  his  dark  satur 
nine  features  with  a  cloud  so  constant,  that  it  has  been 
recorded  of  him,  that  seldom,  even  in  his  moments  of  hilar 
ity,  was  he  beheld  to  smile. 

The  remaining  person  of  the  trio  was  a  finer  and  more 
comely  man  than  either  of  his  comrades ;  fairly  propor 
tioned,  though  not  above  the  middle  height,  with  a  brow 
rather  full  than  lofty,  a  quick  and  penetrating  eye,  and  an 
intelligent  expression,  thoughtful  rather  than  grave,  and 
with  no  touch  of  sternness  or  morosity  on  his  noble  fea 
tures,  lighted  up,  as  they  were  from  time  to  time,  by  a 
smile  of  singular  and  cheerful  sweetness.  He  was  hab 
ited  as  became  a  gentleman,  in  a  rich  garb  of  marone-col- 
ored  velvet,  his  costly  sword  suspended  from  a  scarf  of 
good  white  taffeta,  and  a  white  feather  in  his  beaver ;  the 
whole,  though  plain  enough,  if  compared  with  the  luxu 
rious  bravery  of  the  cavaliers,  whose  dresses  would  often 
times  have  been  too  cheaply  rated  at  a  year's  income  of 
their  patrimony,  conveying  an  idea  of  absolute  gayety, 
when  viewed  beside  the  simple  habiliments  of  his  fellow- 
visitors.  After  he  had  surveyed  this  group  for  a  few  mo 
ments'  space,  satisfied  apparently  with  the  survey,  the 
master  of  the  house  stepped  forward,  startling  them 
slightly  by  his  motion,  and  cutting  short  their  converse. 


40  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  Give  yon  good  evening,  Master  Cromwell,"  he  said, 
addressing  himself  to  the  most  slovenly-apparelled  of  the 
company ;  "  it  shames  me  to  have  caused  you  wait  my 
coming." 

"  Not  so,  good  sir,"  returned  the  other ;  "  it  is  we  rather 
who  have  trespassed  on  your  studies,  coming  thus  at  an 
hour  surely  unseasonable.  But,  of  a  truth,  I  had  forgot 
ten — I  pray  you,  Master  Milton,"  for  it  was  no  other  than 
the  immortal  poet,  who  had  deplored,  in  such  heartfelt 
yet  unrepining  language,  the  approach  of  that  terrible  ca 
lamity,  which  had  already  been  predicted  to  him  by  theiirst 
physicians  of  the  day  as  the  sure  consequence  of  his  per 
sisting  in  his  arduous  andunremitted  labors, — "I  pray  you, 
Master  Milton,  know  these  most  worthy  and  God-fearing 
gentlemen !  This,"  motioning  with  his  hand  toward  the 
taller  and  more  gloomy  figure,  "  this  is  my  good  friend, 
Master  Oliver  St.  John  ;  and  this,  my  well-beloved  and 
trusty  cousin,  honest  John  Hampden." 

"  Of  a  truth,  Master  Cromwell,"  replied  the  poet — in 
those  days  better  known  by  his  magnificent  and  stately 
prose,  for  a  controversial  writer  of  unequalled  power, 
than  by  the  slight  though  beautiful  effusions  of  poetry 
which  hitherto  he  had  cast  forth  merely  as  the  erratic 
sports  of  leisure  moments,  stolen  from  graver  studies,  and 
not  yet  as  the  sublime  continuous  soarings  of  his  unri 
valled  genius — "  of  a  truth,  Master  Cromwell,  I  owe  you 
more  of  thanks  than  I  am  wont  to  offer,  that  you  have 
brought  to  my  poor  dwelling  these,  the  most  constant 
and  the  noblest  cultivators  of  that  fair  vineyard,  to  the 
renewal  and  reform  of  which  I,  too,  an  humble  fellow- 
tiller,  have  devoted  my  unworthy  labors  ! " 

And  he  turned  to  the  companions  of  his  friend,  es 
teemed  already  by  all  the  worshippers  of  freedom  as  the 
wisest,  the  purest,  and  the  best  of  her  adorers !  —  as  the 
pilots,  who  might  alone  be  trusted  to  hold  the  shattered 
helm  of  state  aright,  amid  the  terrors,  the  confusion,  and 
the  storm  of  the  approaching  crisis !  —  as  the  champions, 
who  had  already  reared  the  banner  of  undaunted  opposi 
tion  to  all  that  was  corrupt,  or  bigoted,  or  arbitrary,  in 
religious  or  in  civil  rule  !  —  as  the  leaders,  who,  above  all 
others,  were  endowed  with  the  talent,  and  the  worth,  and, 


A  POET  AXD  A  PATRIOT.  41 

more  than  these,  with  the  unflinching  energy  to  wring 
the  iron  sceptre  of  usurped  prerogative  from  the  high 
hand  that  wielded  it  with  such  despotic  sway !  He  greet 
ed  them  with  words  savoring  more  of  courteous  deference 
than  of  that  plain-spoken  and  uncompromising  brevity,  on 
the  use  of  which  his  party  prided  themselves  so  deeply  in 
their  intercourse  of  man  with  man.  There  was,  however, 
nothing  of  vain  or  worldly  adulation,  much  less  of  that 
fawning  sycophancy,  that  low  servile  man-worship,  for 
which  the  courtiers  of  the  day  were  so  deservedly  con 
temned  by  the  stern  Puritans,  in  his  frank  though  rever 
ential  bearing. 

After  a  few  seconds  spent  in  civilities,  which  were  ac 
cepted  as  the  befitting  homage  of  one  surpassing  intel 
lect  to  others,  though  in  a  different  sphere,  of  not  inferior 
merit,  homage,  degrading  not  the  giver,  while  it  added 
to  the  real  dignity  of  the  receiver,  the  party  fell  into  the 
ordinary  demeanor  of  men  familiar,  if  not  with  the  per 
sons,  at  least  with  the  minds  and  principles  each  of  the 
other ;  and  the  conversation  flowed  as  quietly  on  the  ac 
customed  topics  of  the  times  as  though  the  speakers  had 
been  in  the  daily  habit  of  mingling  in  the  same  social  in 
tercourse.  There  was,  however,  not  only  nothing  of  lev 
ity  or  humor,  but  nothing  of  common  import  or  every 
day  occurrence,  in  the  interchanged  ideas  of  those  high 
spirits,  devoted,  one  and  all,  to  the  same  pursuit  of  patri 
otism,  and  equally  engrossed  in  the  quick-succeeding  in 
cidents  of  fearful  and  pervading  interest,  which  rendered 
every  hour  of  that  eventful  year  a  great  historic  epoch. 

"  Have  ye  received  aught  new  from  Ireland,"  inquired 
the  poet — "ye  of  the  lower  house,  touching  this  perilous 
and  damnable  rebellion  ?  " 

"Ay,  of  a  surety  have  we  !  "  answered  Cromwell,  "  full 
confirmation  —  full,  ay,  and  overflowing  all  that  we  had 
heard  before ! " 

"  All  Ulster  is  in  one  light  blaze,"  cried  St.  John,  his 
dark  eye  flashing  with  indignant  fire  ;  "  the  forts  all  cap 
tured,  and  that  most  subtle  Villain,  Phelim  O'Neil,  wading 
knee-deep  —  with  thirty  thousand  fanatic  and  phrensied 
Papists — knee-deep  in  Protestant  and  English  gore !  Con- 
naught  and  Leinster  revelling  in  red-handed  massacre,  and 


42  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  five  counties  of  the  Pale,  arrayed  by  the  lords-justices 
to  quell  the  insurrection,  united  to  their  brother  rebels  !  " 

"  None  may  conceive  the  horrors — none  may  recount  or 
enumerate  the  sufferings — of  the  wretched  Protestants," 
continued  Hampden,  a  deep  shade  of  melancholy  settling 
down  on  his  fine  lineaments ;  "  at  the  least  reckoning, 
twenty  thousand  of  our  brethren,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  yea,  the  very  infants  at  the  breast,  have  perished  ! 
No  insult,  no  atrocity,  that  Romish  perfidy  could  plan,  or 
Irish  cruelty  perform — no  last  extremity  of  famine,  cold, 
or  torture,  has  been  spared  to  their  defenseless  victims 
by  the  barbarian  Papists — the  very  priests  setting  the  torch 
of  midnight  conflagration  to  the  planter's  dwelling,  and 
hounding  on  their  furious  followers  to  massacre  and  havoc  ?  " 

"  But  the  king,  fair  sirs?  " 

"  Well  hast  thou  said,  John  Milton,"  interrupted  the 
harsh  voice  of  Cromwell  before  the  other  had  concluded 
his  inquiry  ;  "  well  hast  thou  said  and  truly  !  'tis  of  that 
man  of  Belial!  ay,  root  and  branch  of  him,  and  his  self- 
seeking  carnal  cavaliers !  " 

"It  is,  we  fear,  too  true — "  said  Hampden,  in  reply  to 
the  anxious  looks  of  the  attentive  list  em -r;  "it  is,  we 
fear,  too  true !  O'Neil,  in  his  dark  proclamation,  boasts 
openly  his  own  authority  from  the  great  seal  of  Scotland. 
Sir  William  St.  Leger,  trusty  alike  and  brave,  hath,  as 
we  learn,  dismissed  his  levies,  and  laid  down  the  arms  he 
had  assumed  on  the  first  outbreak  of  the  rebels,  at  sight 
of  a  commission,  with  Charles  Stuart's  manual  sign,  held 
by  that  murderous  bigot,  Lord  Musquerry." 

"  And  last,  not  least,"  sneered  Oliver  St.  John,  "  Mac 
Mahon  hath  confessed,  at  shrewd  solicitation  of  the  rack, 
that  the  original  scheme  of  this  rebellion  was  brought  to 
Ireland  from  our  gracious  king  and  governor,  by  Dillon 
and  the  members  of  the  late  committee." 

"  Of  a  truth,"  said  Cromwell,"  in  reply  to  the  words 
of  his  milder  cousin,  "  of  a  truth,  there  may  be  cause  for 
fear,  ay,  and  for  grief — yet  wherefore  ?  Verily  'tis  a 
hard  thing  to  rejoice,  to  rejoice  in  the  midst  of  slaughter 
and  abomination !  Yet  who  shall  deem  or  boast  himself 
to  know  of  that  which  is  to  come,  save  He  that  holdeth 
the  end,  I  say  the  end  and  the  accomplishment  of  all 


A  POET  AND  A  PAT1110T.  43 

things,  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  ?  But  I  Avill  tell  you 
this  —  yea,  but  mistake  me  not,  —  this  will  I  avouch  to 
you,  that  I  fear  not,  but  do  rejoice !  'T  is  a  sad  thing,  in 
truth,  that  an  anointed  king,  even  a  king  in  Israel,  should 
arm  his  hand  against  his  people,  and  turn  away  his  coun 
tenance  from  the  well-beloved  of  the  Lord,  inclining  his 
ear  likewise  unto  the  idolatries  of  the  beast,  and  unto  the 
charmings  of  the  Moabitish  woman ;  yea,  and  pour  out 
the  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  the  heads  of  the  sons  of  right 
eousness  !  But,  of  a  surety,  it  is  not  for  a  man  to  judge 
save  thus  —  for  I  will  speak  even  as  it  is  put  into  my 
mouth,  —  save  thus  —  that  to  a  man  foreweaponed  and 
forewarned,  less  dangerous  is  an  open  enemy — yea,  if  he 
be  mightier  by  tenfold, — than  one  who  lurketh  privily  be 
neath  the  vesture  of  a  friend,  looking  in  secret  whom  he 
may  devour !  " 

"  Forewarned  indeed  you  are,"  replied  the  poet,  mu 
singly,  "  and  your  own  fault  't  will  be  if  you  be  not  fore 
weaponed  likewise ;  for,  in  good  sooth,  I  do  believe  the 
lives  of  none  are  safe — the  lives  and  liberties  of  none,  who 
dare  uplift  their  voices  in  defense  of  England's  liberty  or 
the  church's  purity." 

"And  is  it  not  to  this  end,"  cried  Oliver,  "  arid  is  it  not 
to  this  end  that  we  are  watching,  even  now,  with  our 
loins  girded,  and  our  light  burning,  watching  unto  the 
protection  of  those  that  are  defenseless,  and  unto  the  en 
lightening  of  those  that  sit  in  darkness  ?  And  is  it  not 
to  this  end  that  we  have  now  come  to  you,  John  Milton, 
trusting  to  gain  a  strong  ally — even  a  valiant,  and  a  heart- 
whole,  and  a  spirit-serving  soldier!  —  seeking  to  learn 
from  you  —  so  far  as  it  is  for  man  to  learn  of  man,  yet 
neither  confident  in  worldly  wisdom,  which  is  ignorance 
before  the  Lord,  nor  relying  altogether  on  the  judgment 
of  a  fellow-worm,  how  excellent  soever  he  may  be  in  the 
gifts  of  carnal  knowledge, — seeking,  I  say,  to  learn  from 
you  the  character  and  principles  of  one  with  whom  we  do 
believe  that  you  so  long  have  communed  as  to  know  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart,  ay,  and  to  interpret  the  workings 
of  his  inward  man !  " 

"Such  is  indeed  our  object,"  continued  Hampden, 
while  St.  John  fixed  his  searching  eye  upon  the  beautiful 


44  OLIVER   CROMWELL. 

features  of  the  listener  with  keen  and  interested  scrutiny  ; 
"  such  is  indeed  our  object  in  this  untimely  visit.  We 
have  but  now  received  intelligence  of  the  decease  of  that 
shrewd  counsellor  and  honest  patriot,  Elias  Chaloner,  the- 
fellow-townsman  of  my  worthy  cousin  Cromwell,  and 
lately  member  for  the  godly  town  of  Huntingdon  ;  and, 
with  this  same  intelligence,  the  great  charge  has  been 
laid  upon  us,  by  the  zealous  burghers  of  the  place,  of 
commending  to  their  choice  a  person  who  shall  honora 
bly  fill  the  post  of  him  that  is  departed." 

"And  how?  you  would  ask,  John  Milton,"  Cromwell 
broke  in,  "  for  I  can  read  the  query  on  your  brow — how, 
you  would  ask,  can  you  assist  us  in  this  matter  ?  Verily 
thus  —  for  it  has  been  suggested  to  our  souls  when  we 
were  seeking  out  the  Lord  in  prayer,  yea,  wrestling  with 
him  in  the  spirit,  that  he  should  guide  us  to  a  sure  elec 
tion, — it  was — I  tell  you  truth,  I  do  profess, — borne  in 
upon  the  ears  of  our  minds,  as  with  an  audible  and  spo 
ken  voice,  i  Ye  shall  call  to  aid  the  man — even  the  young 
man — Edgar  Arden — '" 

"With  whom,"  interrupted  St.  John,  evidently  tired  of 
the  prolix,  verbose  haranguing  of  the  other,  "  with  whom, 
as  we  are  well  assured,  you,  Master  Milton,  have  mingled 
much  in  foreign  travel,  having  thereby  good  opportunity 
to  judge  of  his  opinions  and  to  learn  his  heart.  We  would 
hear  from  you,  therefore,  worthy  sir,  whether  this  gentle 
man  of  high  extraction,  born  of  a  race  devotedly,  I  had 
well-nigh  said  slavishly,  loyal  —  whether  this  gentleman 
be  indeed,  as  we  would  wish  to  find  him,  a  firm,  uncom 
promising  lover  of  his  country  —  one  who  would  pledge 
himself,  and  keep  his  plight  religiously,  to  advance  the 
views  and  serve  the  interests  of  our  party !  May  it 
please  you,  tell  us  fully  what  of  yourself  you  know,  and 
what  may  be  your  judgment  of  this  your  fellow-traveller; 
and,  above  all,  whether  he  may  be  wrought,  and  by  what 
means,  to  further  our  purposes !  " 

"  For  years,"  replied  the  poet,  after  a  moment's  pause, 
"  for  years  have  I  been  wont  to  read  the  living  minds  of 
men  with  even  more  of  study  than  I  have  expended  on 
their  embalmed  and  written  thoughts — for  years! — and 
never  —  I  can  say  it  honestly  and  freely,  for  I  do  believe 


A  POET  AND  A  PATRIOT.  45 

I  know  his  inmost  aspirations,  even  as  I  am  conscious  of 
my  own — never  have  I  found,  or  even  read  of  a  clearer 
head,  combined  with  a  truer  heart,  than  that  of  Edgar 
Arclen.  A  worshipper  of  wisdom,  of  liberty,  of  truth,  as 
pure  and  as  fervently  devoted  as  the  great  spirits  of  the 
old  republics !  A  scholar  in  the  study,  and  that  of  the 
ripest — an  orator  in  the  forum,  strong,  stirring,  and  per 
suasive — a  soldier  in  the  field,  well  tried,  and  as  well 
proven !  A  worshipper  of  all  that  is  beautiful,  but  one 
who  sees  no  beauty  save  in  virtue  !  A  Christian,  fervent 
and  sincere,  yet  tolerant,  and  of  much  charity !  Ambi 
tious — but  ambitious  only  to  do  good  !  If  ever  there  was 
born  a  man  wholly  unselfish,  that  man  is  Edgar  Arden. 
Such — and  on  my  judgment,  I  think,  you  may  rely — such 
is  the  man  whom  you  would  take  into  your  counsels. 
Gain  him,  then,  gain  him,  if  you  may,  for  certainly,  if  Ed 
gar  Arden  could  achieve  aught  to  benefit  his  country, 
though  every  hope,  every  feeling,  every  passion  of  his 
soul  were  enlisted  to  oppose  it,  certainly  he  would  tread 
hope,  feeling,  passion,  into  the  very  dust  beneath  his  feet. 
He  has  a  head  so  clear,  he  cannot  fail  to  see  the  right ;  he 
has  a  heart  so  true,  he  would  not  fail  —  though  at  the 
price  of  all  he  holds  most  dear  —  to  follow  it.  Beware, 
however,  beware,  if  ye  decide  to  seek  him,  how  you  show 
aught  of  doubt,  much  less  suspicion  !  Proifer  to  him  the 
seat  for  Huntingdon  untrammelled !  say  not  a  word  of 
party ;  not  a  word  of  opposition  to  the  court ;  make  not 
one  condition ;  ask  not  one  pledge  ! — for  had  you  heaven 
itself  to  tender  him,  and  were  to  tender  it,  so  bribing 
him — ay,  were  it  even  to  act  well — my  life  !  he  would  re 
fuse  even  heaven !  If,  therefore,  you  can  resolve  un 
pledged  to  trust  him,  seek  not  to  sound  his  views  ;  for  as 
well  might  you  essay  to  fathom  the  most  central  depths 
of  ocean ;  seek  not  to  bind  his  actions — for  as  well  might 
you  go  forth  to  chain  the  subtle  and  pervading  lightning ; 
but  proffer  to  him,  in  plain  terms,  the  seat,  at  the  free 
choice  of  the  burghers,  and  if  he  do  accept  it,  as  well  I 
trust  he  will,  be  sure  there  is  no  man  in  England  that  bet 
ter  knows  the  duties  of  a  member  in  the  Commons  House 
of  Parliament,  or  will  discharge  them  more  truly !  " 
"  You  have  described,"  replied  the  calm  and  medita- 


4fi  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

live  IJampclen,  "you  have  indeed  described  a  man,  such 
as  there  are  but  few  on  this  side  the  grave  !  Your  words, 
too,  tally  well  with  the  surmises  I  have  formed  from  his 
known  actions ! " 

"And  would  you  then,"  asked  the  moody  St.  John, 
"  would  you  then  set  so  great  a  matter  on  the  casting  of 
a  die  ?  Do  you  r.ot  know  that  even  now  we  have  but  a 
majority — not  over-strong  nor  over-certain  ? — that  many 
have  been  already  won  or  put  to  silence — that  Hyde  and 
his  moderate  partisans  daily  gain  strength,  and  only  lack 
occasion  to  join  the  court  in  open  and  unblushing  servi 
tude  ?  Know  you  not  that  Falkland  wavers,  and  that,  if 
he  go  over,  ten  votes  at  least  will  instantly  apostatize  ? 
and  would  you  then  elect  this  cavalier,  for  such  in  truth 
he  is,  on  vague  hopes  and  uncertain  indications  ?  " 

"  I  said  not  so,"  replied  Hampden,  quickly ;  "  I  said 
not  so !  but  only  that  I  believe  him  wise  and  honest ! 
Farther  I  will  say  now,  that — if,  on  any  terms,  we  shall 
decide  to  recommend  him  to  the  choice  of  the  electors — 
my  voice  is  for  so  doing  with  nothing  of  restriction.  If 
he  be  honest,  it  needs  not  to  bind  him  by  a  promise  —  if 
otherwise,  't  were  madness  to  suppose  that  promises  will 
bind  him.  But  on  this  matter  we  will  speak  more  anon 
— we  have  already  trespassed  over-long  upon  the  leisure 
and  the  patience  of  our  honorable  host." 

St.  John  replied  not ;  and  Cromwell,  who  had  perhaps 
made  up  his  mind  already,  had  fallen  into  a  long  and 
rambling  exposition  of  some  doctrinal  point,  wholly  re 
mote  from  the  subject  in  question,  to  which  Milton  list 
ened  with  a  tranquil  smile  playing  about  his  well-turned 
lip,  and  with  the  aim  apparently  of  discovering  what  was 
the  meaning,  if  there  indeed  were  any,  of  the  wild  and 
ill-digested  oratory  of  the  member  for  Cambridge,  at  this 
time  just  beginning  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  house, 
though  no  one  could  perhaps  assign  a  cause  for  his  in 
creasing  influence. 

For  a  short  space  the  others  spoke  apart,  warmly, 
though  in  an  under  tone — Hampden,  as  it  seemed,  urging 
on  his  grave  confederate  some  dubious  or  unpalatable 
measure;  the  energy  of  his  manner  gradually  rising, 
while  the  opposition  of  his  friend  waxed  fainter,  until  the 


A  POET  AND  A  PATRIOT.  47 

habitual  sneer  departed  from  his  lip,  and  the  accustomed 
cloud  partially  yielded  to  an  opener  and  more  cheery 
aspect. 

"  Be  it  so !  "  he  said  at  length,  raising  his  voice,  as  the 
discussion  was  finished  by  his  assent ;  "  be  it  so,  if  you 
will — and,  in  faith,  I  believe  you  are  in  the  right  on 't ! 
N~ow,  Master  Cromwell,"  he  continued,  turning  toward 
him  as  he  spoke,  "it  lacks  but  a  scant  hour  of  midnight,  and 
our  host's  oil,  I  trow,  is  wont  to  lend  its  light  to  pur 
poses  of  more  importance  than  our  farther  converse ! 
Give  you  good  night,  fair  sir,"  he  added,  with  a  short  in 
clination  to  the  poet,  as,  gathering  his  cloak  about  him, 
he  led  his  comrades,  after  brief  ceremony,  into  the  moon 
lit  streets ;  while  he,  whom  he  had  last  addressed,  ap 
plied  himself,  in  solitary  diligence,  to  the  exercise  of  his 
pen,  slight  instrument  of  mightiest  powers,  whether  for 
good  or  evil,  and,  in  the  hand  of  the  philosopher,  prime 
mover  of  more  potent  revolutions  than  its  dread  rival 
and  confederate — the  mortal  sword. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE      WANDERER     AT      HOME. 


0!  what  can  be  more  blissful  than  to  cast  all  care  away, 
When  down  the  mind  her  burden  throws  to  take  it  up'no  more, 
What  time,  with  foreign  toils  oppressed,  our  own  familiar  door 
We  open,  to  repose  upon  the  long-regretted  bed  — 
This,  this  it  is  that  can  alone  all  greatest  cares  repay! 

CATULLUS.    Idyll  19. 


can  imagine,  but  they  who  have  themselves  been 
wanderers,  expatriated,  whether  of  choice  or  necessity  it 
matters  not,  what  it  is  to  be  sojourners  not  dwellers  on 
the  broad  desert  earth  ;  what  it  is,  in  the  midst  of  others, 
as  dear,  perhaps  even  dearer  than  those,  who  are  still 
gathered,  afar  off,  around  the  unforgotten  fireside  of  their 
childhood,  to  have  craved  with  an  insatiate  and  yearning 
appetite  the  well-known  aspect  of  the  old  home-places  ; 
to  have  languished  for  a  father's  blessing,  a  mother's 


48  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

wistful  eye,  a  sister's  holy  kiss  ;  to  have  felt,  with  the  pa 
triotic  Syrian,  that  "Abana  and  Pharphar,  rivers  of  Da 
mascus,"  are  truly  to  the  exile,  "  better  than  all  the  Ava- 
ters  of  Israel." 

None  know,  but  they  who,  having  experienced  all  this, 
have  returned,  after  long  wanderings,  to  those  cherished 
scenes,  what  is  the  deep  and  tranquil  happiness  of  being 
once  again  the  centre  of  that  old  domestic  circle ;  of  re 
ceiving  the  fond  welcome  of  every  living  thing — ay,  even 
of  the  household  dog,  or  superannuated  horse,  that  yelps 
or  whinnies  in  the  fullness  of  his  recognition ;  of  lying 
down  to  rest  beneath  the  very  curtains,  and  on  the  very 
bed,  which  had  so  often  wooed  them  to  repose  before 
they  knew  the  bitterness  of  sin  or  sorrow. 

Fully  indeed,  and  far  more  sensibly  than  it  is  tasted 
by  the  common  pilgrim  of  life's  journey,  did  this  impres 
sion  of  quiet  happiness  pervade  the  breast  of  Arden,  as 
he  leaned,  gazing  upon  the  laminar  landscape,  from  out 
the  open  casement  of  his  chamber,  that  chamber,  which 
had  never  for  a  moment  faded  from  his  memory,  with  its 
oaken  wainscoting  and  faded  tapestries,  its  angular  re 
cesses,  peopled  by  his  youthful  fantasy  with  lurking 
shapes  of  terror,  its  pleasant  seats  in  the  deep  bay  win 
dows,  its  brazen-handled  cabinets  of  quaint  device,  its  bed 
with  sculptured  tester  and  dark  hangings,  and  more  than 
all,  its  old  oak  desk,  with  the  velvet-bound  and  silver- 
studded  bible,  whence  his  long-lost  and  long-regretted 
mother  had  lessoned  him  so  lovingly  while  he  wa"s  yet  a 
boy. 

The  moonlight  lay  upon  the  velvet  park  and  tufted 
elms,  as  though  it  loved  to  sleep  among  that  peaceful 
scenery ;  and  if,  at  intervals,  it  shone  reflected  from  the 
surface  of  some  quiet  water,  it  lingered  even  there  with  a 
half-shadowed  lustre,  not  flashing  out  with  bright  gleams 
like  the  garish  sunshine,  but  calmly  harmonizing  with  the 
spirit  of  the  place  and  hour.  So  clear,  however,  was  the 
mellow  light,  that  the  graceful  attitudes  of  the  slumber 
ing  deer  might  be  distinguished  on  the  open  lawns,  and 
the  pinion  of  the  gliding  owl  seen  to  glance  against  the 
massy  shadows  of  the  surrounding  forest.  Yet  now, 
although  he  gazed  upon  all  that  was  most  beautiful  of 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  49 

natural  scenery,  all  that  was  most  endeared  to  him  by 
boyish  recollections,  although  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
very  objects  that  he  had  most  earnestly  desired  to  see, 
although  he  was  at  the  very  point  which  he  but  yester 
day  would  have  esteemed  the  summit  of  fruition,  he  was 
not  altogether  at  ease.  It  is  true,  that  he  had  found  in 
her  on  whom  his  mind  had  dwelt  most  fondly  and  most 
frequently  during  his  absence,  the  very  being  he  had 
loved  so  fervently  of  yore,  bearing  110  traces  of  the  years 
which  had  elapsed,  save  in  the  ripening  of  her  mind  to 
excellent  maturity,  and  in  the  rounding  of  her  girlish  fig 
ure  into  the  exquisite  proportions  of  young  womanhood. 
It  is  true  that  the  father,  whom  he  had  honored  and 
obeyed  with  that  old-fashioned  filial  reverence,  which,  ill 
betide  the  change  !  has  long  since  passed  away,  together 
with  the  steel-hilted  rapiers,  and  the  somewhat  formal 
courtesy  of  our  progenitors,  had  welcomed  him  to  his  af 
fections,  a  man  yet  in  the  prime  of  intellectual  vigor.  It 
is  true  that  he  had  brought  back  to  his  native  land  a 
heart  untainted  by  the  follies  and  frivolities  of  foreign 
countries ;  a  mind  well  satisfied,  not  by  the  baseless  ar 
guments  of  boyish  prejudice,  but  by  the  strong  convic 
tions  of  experience,  that  his  own  earth-fast  island  was  in 
deed  the  home  best  calculated  for  the  seekers  of  that 
sweet  domestic  quietude,  that  fire  side,  church-going  hap 
piness,  that  cairn  enjoyment  of  the  duties,  the  labors,  and 
the  pleasures  of  a  country  life,  blent,  as  these  ever  are, 
with  a  romantic  taste  for  the  green  fields  and  slumbering 
woodlands,  the  gentle  river  and  the  smooth  hillside, 
which  have  at  all  times  formed  a  feature  so  distinctive  in 
the  English  character.  But  it  is  no  less  true,  that  even 
at  the  moment  when  his  hand  might  have  been  said  to 
grasp  all  that  his  soul  desired,  his  spirit  was  disturbed, 
and  his  heart  ill  at  ease. 

It  would  be  well,  perhaps,  in  more  respects  than  one, 
for  men,  if  they  could,  in  matters  which  agitate  and  dis 
tress  the  heart,  depending  on  contingencies  which  they 
can  neither  control  nor  foresee,  and  but  blindly  and  oft- 
ener  erroneously  than  rightfully  anticipate,  resign  them 
selves  implicitly  to  that  injunction  of  him  who  spoke  as 
C  4 


50  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

never  man   spoke,  that  they   "  take   no   heed  for  the 
morrow." 

For  in  taking  heed,  it  is  too  true,  that  tor  the  most 
part  they  but  take  to  themselves  sorrow  and  anxiety,  dis 
quieting  themselves  to  no  purpose,  at  the  present,  by 
striving  to  fathom  the  future,  and  lay  out  plans  for  their 
conduct  which  the  chance  of  the  next  moment  will,  for 
the  most  part,  render  futile  or  impossible.  Yet,  in  a  mor 
tal  sense,  obedience  to  this  injunction  is  perhaps  impossi 
ble —  impossible  at  least  to  any  man  endowed  with 
enough  of  intellect  and  mental  vigor  to  perceive  the  con 
nection  between  present  causes  and  eventful  effects  —  to 
foresee  with  prescient  sagacity  the  crop  which  will  spring 
up  to-morrow  from  the  seed  laid  in  the  ground  to-day. 
For  who  could  sit  at  ease,  appreciating  the  full  quality  of 
each  delicious  viand,  pleasantly  debating  on  the  flavor  of 
each  fragrant  wine,  knowing  that  the  sword  of  Damocles 
was  swinging  by  a  single  hair — and  that,  too,  yielding  at 
every  instant  to  the  weight — above  his  head  ? 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  —  had  it  been  possible  for 
Arden  to  seal  up  his  eyes  and  close  his  ears  against 
the  evidence  of  what  to-morrow  must  bring  forth  ; 
had  he  lacked  the  wisdom  to  discover  the  future  des 
tinies  of  England,  her  vitals  even  now  convulsed  by 
the  first  throes  of  the  incipient  earthquake,  or  the  pa 
triotism  to  sympathize  with  the  afflictions  which,  as 
that  wisdom  taught  him,  must  ere  another  year  befall  his 
country,  he  might  have  surrendered  himself  to  momen 
tary  pleasure,  careless  or  ignorant  of  the  approaching  woe. 
And —  so  rare  of  occurrence,  and  so  brief  when  they  do 
occur,  are  the  periods  during  human  life  even  of  compar 
ative  happiness  —  perhaps,  had  he  so  done,  he  had  been 
able  to  look  back  in  after  days  to  more  of  sunny  hours 
than  he  could  count  among  the  strange  and  mingled  in 
cidents  of  his  eventful  life. 

But,  constituted  as  he  was,  it  was  not  in  his  power  to 
fix  his  gaze  on  the  bright  present  aspect  of  the  things 
around  him,  without  observing  the  huge  melancholy 
clouds  which  were  rising  up  on  the  political  horizon, 
threatening  to  overshadow  with  their  gloomy  pall,  and 
perhaps  to  overwhelm  in  the  wild  tempest  they  must  soon 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  51 

discharge,  the  feeble  shallop  of  his  own  private  for 
tunes,  together  with  the  stronger  vessel  of  his  country's 
liberties. 

At  an  early  period  of  his  life  a  visitor  of  southern  lands, 
where  he  had  wandered,  not  to  mark,  only,  the  sunny 
skies  and  desolated  fields,  the  ruined  temples  and  the 
beautiful  cascades,  but  to  muse  on  the  condition  of  the 
nations  once  so  powerful  and  so  degraded  now ;  to  pon 
der  on  their  rise  and  fall ;  to  draw  deep  lessons  of  the  fu 
ture  from  the  contemplation  of  the  past.  He  had  learned 
to  cherish  liberty  the  more  from  having  witnessed,  if  not 
himself  endured,  the  Avrongs,  the  misery,  and  the  oppres 
sion  of  unlimited  -authority.  Summoned  of  late  by  ru 
mors,  rife  throughout  the  world,  of  present  disagreement 
and  coming  strife  between  the  king  and  parliament  of  his 
own  country,  he  had  returned  to  England  at  the  instiga 
tion  of  his  natural  sense  of  duties,  which  forbade  him  to 
expend  his  energies  of  heart  and  hand  in  the  service  of  a 
foreign  prince,  when  both  might  be  required  to  aid  the 
better  cause  of  liberty  or  loyalty,  no  less  than  at  the  dic 
tates  of  those  natural  affections  which,  sooner  or  later, 
will  point,  as  surely  as  the  magnetic  needle  to  the  north, 
toward  the  home  of  childhood. 

While  on  the  journey,  all  his  thoughts  had  been,  nearly 
all,  of  joy — of  that  serene  and  moderate  happiness  which 
makes  the  days  flow  onward  like  a  broad  and  tranquil 
river,  fertilizing  some  fair  plain,  rich  with  the  hopes  of 
thousands,  beautiful,  but  with  an  indescribable  and  unro- 
mantic  beauty,  presenting  none  of  those  wild  charms, 
those  scenes  at  once  sublime  and  lovely  to  the  eye,  which 
mark  the  course  of  far-famed  torrents  amid  the  savage 
glens  of  moorland,  moss,  and  mountain,  but  leaving  on 
the  mind  a  mingled  sentiment  of  gratitude  and  bliss  that 
will  be  fresh  and  vivid  when  the  sterner  memory  of  its 
rivals  shall  have  yielded  to  oblivion. 

His  spirit  had  looked  forward  to  a  long  perspective  of 
sunshiny  years,  not  to  be  degraded  by  the  selfish  sloth  of 
luxury,  not  to  be  wasted  in  the  mere  sports  of  the  field, 
which,  useful,  ay,  and  ennobling  in  their  tendencies,  when 
partaken  but  as  a  relief  to  grave  and  solid  duties,  so  surely 
brutalize  if  they  be  exalted  to  a  business  and  a  constant 


62  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

occupation,  not  to  be  dreamed  away  in  apathetic  musings 
and  would-be  philosophy,  but  to  be  dignified  by  high  and 
patriotic  labors,  by  the  cultivation  of  the  sciences  and 
arts,  by  the  promotion  of  public  virtue  and  domestic 
worth,  to  be  enlivened  by  the  gay  communion  of  the  no 
ble  and  the  good,  to  be  softened  by  the  sweet  charities, 
the  endearing  ties,  the  holy  sympathies  that  clasp  within 
their  pale  the  members  of  a  happy  family,  and  to  be 
closed  at  length  by  a  calm  death-bed  amid  weeping 
friends,  and  by  a  grave  beneath  the  elms  of  the  ancestral 
churchyard,  still  to  be  decked  with  flowers,  and  pointed 
out  to  far  posterity  as  the  long  home  of  one  whose  life 
had  been  a  course,  to  which  death  hud  but  brought  the 
consummation,  of  unbending  honor. 

Such,  when  the  chalky  cliffs  loomed  white  and  lofty, 
such  were  the  fond  anticipations,  the  imaginations,  never 
perhaps  to  be  realized,  which  poured  their  gilded  halo 
round  his  heart,  and  when  he  felt  his  foot  once  more  se 
curely  planted  on  the  parent  soil,  when  all  those  gushing 
influences  of  mingled  ecstasy  and  tenderness  swept  in  an 
overwhelming  torrent  over  his  whole  being,  he  deemed 
that  all  his  hopes  were  on  the  point  of  being  gratified, 
that  he  was  indeed  about  to  be  the  happiest  of  men.  The 
rumors  of  evil  seemed  to  fade  away ;  the  menaces  of  po 
litical  discord,  perchance  even  of  civil  strife,  to  mutter 
only  at  a  distance,  if  not  unheard,  at  least  unworthy  to 
create  solicitude  ;  the  fears  that  would  at  times  arise  un 
bidden,  clouding  with  darker  shades  the  bright  hues  of 
his  mental  painting,  were  all  forgotten  ;  and  when  he  ar 
rived,  as  he  had  done  that  evening,  at  the  dear  home  of 
his  boyhood,  when  he  perceived  the  mighty  pleasure  that 
lightened  forth  from  every  feature  of  his  admiring  father, 
when  he  found  himself  revelling  in  the  manifest  affections 
of  his  destined  bride,  and  knew  that  she  partook  of  the 
same  rapture,  and  in  no  less  degree,  he  for  a  while  aban 
doned  his  whole  soul  to  the  tide  of  feeling.  He  suffered 
himself  to  be  carried  away  by  his  enjoyment  of  the  pres 
ent,  careless  and  fearless  of  the  future ;  he  felt,  perhaps 
for  the  first  time  of  his  life,  during  those  brief  hours,  that 
elastic  buoyancy  of  temper  which  seems  to  tread  the 
earth  with  winged  steps,  about  to  soar  aloft,  insensible  to 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  53 

anything  that  may  depress,  reckless  of  all  that  may  op 
pose,  that  rapt  intoxication  of  the  spirit,  which  is  suc 
ceeded  so  often  by  the  contrary  extreme  of  listless,  sad 
despondency,  that,  in  the  northern  parts  of  Britain,  it  has 
given  rise  to  a  pervading  superstition,  to  an  undoubting 
creecl,  that  such  is  the  forerunner  and  the  omen,  not  of  a 
causeless  gloom,  but  of  a  coming  evil. 

However  this  may  be, — and  I  know  not,  that  I  have 
not  observed  something  in  the  course  of  circumstances, 
that  does  palliate  the  superstition, — it  nevertheless  is  cer 
tain,  that  scarcely  had  he  retired  from  that  delicious  in 
tercourse  to  the  seclusion  of  his  own  apartment,  ere  the 
exhilaration,  which  had  almost  surprised  himself  while  he 
indulged  it,  gave  place,  first,  to  an  uncertain  sense  of  rest 
lessness,  then  to  a  consciousness  of  some  impending  evil, 
increasing  in  distinctness  moment  after  moment,  till  it  as 
sumed  at  length  the  shape  of  an  anxiety,  if  not  a  fear, 
positive,  well-defined,  and,  alas!  but  too  well  grounded. 
Nothing,  indeed,  but  the  whirl  of  mingled  sensations, 
leaving  room  for  nothing  of  serious  meditation,  could 
have,  even  thus  far,  blinded  Arden  to  the  difficulties  and 
the  dangers  of  his  future  course.  The  boasted  loyalty  of 
his  forefathers,  their  fond  devotion,  stronger  almost  than 
life,  to  the  king,  not  as  a  person,  but  as  a  portion,  and 
that  the  most  important,  of  the  state,  their  orthodox  and 
sturdy  zeal,  condemning  all  as  sectaries  and  fanatics  who 
differed  in  the  least  from  the  established  canons  of  the 
church,  their  prejudiced  affection  for  all  that  was  antique, 
even  for  antique  error !  their  holding  up  all  those  who 
would  improve  or  alter,  with  the  most  diffident  and  spar 
ing  hand,  as  innovators  on  the  good  old  times,  as  levellers 
of  rank  and  order,  as  iconoclasts  of  the  holy  constitution, 
as  traitors  to  their  monarch,  to  their  country,  to  their 
God !  All  these,  he  could  not  but  remember,  had  been 
the  principles  impressed  upon  his  dawning  intellect  as  the 
very  elixir  of  political  wisdom,  as  the  examples  which 
must  point  the  steps  of  every  Arden,  as  the  doctrines  for 
the  maintenance  of  which  he  must,  if  ever  called  upon  to 
do  so,  rejoicingly  expend  his  fortune  and  his  blood. 

All  these,  he  could  not  but  foresee,  must  still,  accord 
ing  to  all  human  calculations,  be  the  favorite  maxims  of 


54  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

his  father,  who,  as  he  felt  in  contradiction  of  those  hopes, 
which,  even  in  spite  of  hope,  he  knew  unfounded,  would 
be  too  likely  to  deem  the  slightest  deviation  from  the 
footsteps  of  his  idols  as  the  worst  apostacy ! — the  most 
respectful  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  misguided 
sovereign,  as  flat  rebellion  !  —  the  most  moderate  inter 
ference  in  behalf  of  liberal  views  and  privileges  of  the 
people,  as  a  banding,  against  the  legitimate  aristocracy 
of  the  land,  with  all  that  is  low,  and  sordid,  and  degra 
ded  I — too  likely,  in  short,  to  deem  the  part  which  Edgar 
felt  already  to  be  the  only  one  he  could  in  honor  or  in 
honesty  espouse,  a  base  abandonment  of  his  natural  posi 
tion  —  a  shameful  dereliction  from  the  principles  and  vir 
tues  of  his  race  —  a  crime  not  to  be  atoned  for,  even  by 
exclusion  from  his  heart  and  expulsion  from  the  home  of 
his  fathers ! 

And  had  he  been  able  even  heretofore  and  at  a  dis 
tance  to  close  his  eyes  against  this  fatal  certainty,  he  must 
indeed  have  been  both  blind  and  deaf  of  heart  had  he  not 
marked  the  words  of  blasting  sarcasm,  of  fierce  and  fiery 
hatred,  which  flashed  forth  as  oft  as  any  casual  mention 
intervened  of  those  who  had  stood  forth  to  check  the 
headlong  declination  of  the  English  church  toward  dread 
ed  Popery,  or  the  more  rapid  increase  of  prerogative  to 
ward  absolute  and  autocratic  sway.  But  they  had  not 
escaped  him.  Although  unnoted,  or  at  least  unremarked, 
amid  the  free  and  flowing  conversation  of  that  first  eve 
ning,  and  unable  for  the  time  to  dash  his  most  unusual 
exuberance  of  animal  spirits,  they  had  sunk  deep  into  his 
heart,  and  now  they  rose  in  long  array  against  him, 
ghastly  and  gloomy  shapes,  reproaching  him  with  his  un 
natural  and  foolish  joy,  and  pointing  to  an  endless  course 
of  tribulation  and  of  sorrow. 

Nor  was  this  all !  —  though  this  had  been  enough  to 
overshadow  a  temperament  more  sanguinely  inclined  than 
that  of  Edgar  Arden,  determined  as  he  was  to  follow  that 
which  he  himself  should  deem  the  wise,  the  upright,  and 
the  honorable  way  of  action,  though  such  should  be 
avenged  by  the  prostration  of  all  his  fancy's  idols,  by  the 
ruin  of  his  fortunes,  by  the  blighting  of  his  nearest  and 
dearest  aspirations,  and,  more  intolerable  far  than  all  be- 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  55 

side,  by  the  forfeiture  of  that  high  opinion  which  his 
merit  had  induced,  and  the  frustration  of  that  just  ex 
pectance  which  his  promise  had  excited  in  the  bosoms  of 
his  friends  and  kinsmen. 

Xor  was  this  all !  For,  as  he  pondered  now  in  the  lone 
stillness  of  the  night,  as  he  reviewed  with  a  dispassionate, 
keen-sighted  judgment  the  occurrences  of  the  past  day, 
as  he  recurred  to  every  word  that  had  fallen  from  the 
lips  to  which  he  looked  for  love,  and  life,  and  all  that  can 
make  life  happy,  to  every  expression  which  had  wreathed 
in  smiles,  or  clouded  with  disapprobation,  the  soul-fraught 
lineaments  of  Sibyl,  he  could  not  bless  himself  with  the 
conviction,  scarce  even  with  the  hope,  that  she  was  not, 
although  in  a  less  stern  degree,  a  holder  of  the  same  an 
cestral  prejudice,  a  worshipper  of  the  same  creed,  hallowed 
as  it  was  by  much  that  naturally  would  call  forth  the  sym 
pathies  of  a  mind  imbued  with  all  the  poetry  of  feudal  re 
collections,  not  as  yet  faded  from  the  earth,  by  the  high 
chivalrous  devotion,  the  noble  and  unselfish  confidence, 
the  enthusiastic  valor,  the  unsullied  memory  and  cloud 
less  glory,  of  the  days  when  kings  were  loved  as  second 
only  to  the  gods — when  loyalty  was  regarded  as  a  virtue 
among  men,  in  the  same  rank  with  piety  toward  heaven. 

Whither,  then,  had  fallen  his  exulting  fancies — whither 
had  flown  his  visionary  prospects  of  a  useful  and  a 
happy  life,  of  an  honored  and  regretted  end  —  if  the 
paths  of  happiness  and  honor  were  destined  to  run 
diverse  ?  If,  his  heart  burning  with  the  pure  and 
hallowed  flame  of  liberty,  his  head  clearly  apprecia 
ting  the  miserable  and  abhorred  aims  of  the  rash  man 
who  wore  the  crown  of  England,  his  whole  soul  glow 
ing  with  patriotic  ardor,  he  must  either  prostitute  his 
energies  to  make  what  to  him  seemed  the  worse  appear 
the  better  cause,  must  either  lift  his  voice  to  justify  and 
defend  time-honored  wrong  and  new-devised  oppression, 
must  either  edge  the  weapon  of  the  despot  with  all  the 
powers  of  his  arm,  or,  following  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  ranking  himself  among  the  vindicators  of  the 
constitution  to  its  early  purity,  among  the  assertors  of  a 
legitimate  and  tempered  freedom  —  as  far  removed  from 
the  wild  anarchy  and  license  of  falsely  styled  republics,  as 


56  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

from  the  ibrced  obedience  and  intolerant  rule  of  arbitrary 
governors — must  be  content  to  sacrifice  all  that  his  heart 
held  worthy  its  acceptance !  if,  in  short,  he  must  act  a 
part  dishonest  and  unworthy,  in  order  to  gain  those  ordi 
nary  means  of  happiness,  to  which  none  so  lowly  but  they 
aspire;  or  must  surrender  every  hope,  nay,  every  possi 
bility  of  earthly  bliss,  at  the  inflexible  commands  of  duty 
and  of  honor  ? 

These  were  the  dark  reflections  into  which  the  mind 
of  Arden  had  relapsed,  as  he  stood  alone,  gazing  from  the 
lattice  of  his  chamber  into  the  bosom  of  the  night,  profit 
ing  by,  if  not  enjoying,  the  first  moments  of  calm  solici 
tude,  the  first  opportunity  for  quiet  and  heart-searching 
meditation,  that  had  fallen  to  hisjot  since  he  had  been  num 
bered  once  again  among  the  dwellers  beneath  the  oaken 
shades  of  his  paternal  Woodleigh.  Nor,  as  the  hours  of 
night  passed,  not  unheralded  by  musical  chimes  from  the 
old  belfry,  and  the  moonlight  waned  in  the  peaceful  sky, 
did  his  wild  thoughts  and  sad  forebodings  give  way  to 
aught  of  weariness ;  the  more  he  pondered,  and  the  less 
able  did  he  seem  to  find  the  slightest  clew  to  guide  his 
footsteps  through  the  gloomy  labyrinth  of  the  future,  the 
longer  he  sat  gazing  on  the  pallid  stars,  and  the  less  he 
felt  disposed  for  slumber,  till  at  length,  the  spirit  moving, 
as  it  were,  too  rapidly,  and  the  blood  coursing  through 
his  veins  too  fiercely  to  permit  the  body  to  remain  inac 
tive,  he  arose,  scarce  conscious  that  he  did  so,  and  paced 
the  oaken  floor,  backward  and  forth,  with  slow,  irregular 
steps,  the  livelong  night. 

Gradually  the  coming  of  the  early  twilight  dappled  the 
darkness  of  the  eastern  sky  ;  a  bird  or  two,  of  those  which 
had  securely  roosted  under  the  ivy-curtained  eaves,  awak 
ing  with  a  lively  chirrup,  gave  notice  of  the  dawn ;  and 
anon  the  calm  and  colorless  light  of  an  autumnal  morning 
crept  into  Arden's  chamber,  dispelling  from  its  every  nook 
the  massy  shadows  which  had  nestled,  like  unholy  spirits, 
in  those  deep  recesses,  beneath  the  partial  influence  of  the 
moon.  But  all  unnoted  by  its  occupant  had  those  succes 
sive  changes  circled  the  firmament ;  and  when  the  sound 
of  voices  and  footsteps,  passing  to  and  fro  in  the  corridors, 
announced  the  return  of  those  bright  hours  allotted  to  so 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  57 

much  of  human  toil  and  sorrow,  he  absolutely  started  in 
surprise,  and  almost  doubted  whether  it  could  indeed  be 
morning,  that  had  stolen  on  his  waking  dreams,  and 
found  him  still  a  watcher. 

With  something  like  a  smile  at  his  own  abstraction,  he 
turned  to  change  and  alter  his  discomposed  attire ;  and 
as  he  dashed  the  pure  cold  water  over  his  throbbing  tem 
ples,  and  bathed  his  feverish  hands,  he  perceived  that  its 
refreshing  coolness  pervaded  not  his  body  only,  but  calmed 
and  soothed  his  mind ;  and  when  the  merry  bell  summoned 
its  hearers  to  that  most  unrestrained  and  sociable  of  meet 
ings,  the  morning  meal,  he  descended  the  old  staircase, 
gazing  on  its  walls,  decked  with  time-honored  banners, 
and  glittering  with  starry  groups  of  weapons,  and  on  its 
landing-places  guarded  by  complete  panoplies  of  steel, 
standing  erect  with  advanced  arms  and  lowered  visors,  as 
if  still  tenanted  by  the  strong  frames  that  had  supported 
them  of  yore  amid  the  din  of  battle,  if  not  with  a  heart  at 
rest,  at  least  with  a  countenance  that  bore  no  traces  of  the 
conflict  still  at  work  within. 

On  entering  the  summer  parlor,  as  such  rooms  were 
termed  in  the  quaint  language  of  the  tune,  wherein  meet 
preparations  for  a  breakfast,  far  more  solid  than  are  used 
in  these  degenerate  days,  had  been  already  made,  he  found 
his  destined  bride  alone,  in  a  projecting  oriel  window, 
seated  on  the  broad-cushioned  ottoman  which  circled  the 
recess,  with  a  light  frame  before  her,  filled  with  a  gor 
geous  Indian  silk,  on  which  her  art  had  traced  some'fair 
embroideries,  yet  incomplete ;  but,  though  the  many- 
colored  skeins  assorted  within  reach,  and  the  well-tilled 
needle  between  her  taper-fingers,  showed  that  she  had 
commenced  her  feminine  and  graceful  occupation,  the 
thoughtful  attitude  of  her  head,  languidly  propped  on  her 
left  hand,  while  the  right  lay  motionless  on  the  rich  tex 
ture,  belied  her  fancied  industry.  So  noiselessly  had  Ed 
gar's  step  fallen  on  the  soft  Turkey  carpet,  that  she  did 
not  perceive  his  entrance  ;  and  so  beautiful  was  the  pic 
ture  of  still  life  which  she  afforded  to  her  lover's  gaze, 
that  he  lingered  for  a  moment  ere  his  voice  should  rouse 
her  into  animation. 

A  flood  of  morning  luster  streamed  downward  with  a 
C* 


58  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

f  olden  hue,  caught  from  the  teinted  panes,  upon  her  glossy 
air  and  pure  complexion,  circling  her  entire  form  with  a 
halo  of  rich  light,  not  unlike  that  with  which  the  painters 
of  the  Romish  school  are  wont  to  dignify  their  female 
saints  and  martyrs.  The  outlines  of  her  beautiful  shape 
were  mellowed,  as  it  were,  and  shrouded  partially  by  the 
hazy  beams  of  sunshine  which  fell  in  oblique  lines  between 
her  person  and  the  observer's  eye.  Her  luxuriant  tresses 
folded  plainly  about  the  contour  of  her  small  and  classic 
head,  without  ornament  or  gem  of  any  kind,  and  the  ex 
ceeding  repose,  if  it  might  not  be  termed  melancholy,  of 
her  sweet  features,  gave,  together  with  the  accidents  of 
light  and  shade,  a  madona-like  and  sainted  aspect  to  her 
figure,  which  would  have  enchained  an  artist  with  no  less 
of  fascination  than  it  exercised,  from  different  reasons, 
over  the  mind  of  Arden.  As  he  approached,  her  delicate 
ear  detected  him ;  she  turned  her  head,  and  springing  to 
her  feet, — "  Dear  Edgar,"  she  exclaimed,  her  eye  discov 
ering  with  instinctive  quickness  the  trace  of  melancholy 
left  upon  his  lineaments,  however  faintly,  by  his  nightly 
musings ;  "  Dear  Edgar,  you  are  ill  at  ease ;  nay,  smile 
not;  'tis  a  ghastly  smile,  not  of  your  own  expression! 
you  are  ill  at  ease  —  have  passed  a  sleepless  night —  " 

"  Sweet  Sibyl,"  he  replied,  with  a  wan  smile,  and  gently 
pressing  her  extended  hand,  "  you  are  indeed  a  keen  ob 
server  ;  too  keen,  believe  me.  How  should  I  be  but  well 
and  happy,  surrounded  thus  by  all  I  love  most  tenderly  ?  " 
"  How  indeed,  Edgar  ?  "  she  answered,  even  more  sadly 
than  before.  "  How  indeed  —  if  you  do  love  so  tenderly  ? 
But  ill  at  ease  you  are,  and  have  been  sleepless.  All 
night  long  have  I  heard  your  heavy  strides  upon  the 
chamber  floor,  and  those  not  regular  and  measured  as 
your  wont,  but  fitful  and  uncertain.  So  do  not  pass  the 
happy  their  first  night  beneath  the  roof  that  saw  their 
birth." 

"If  I  do  love,  Sibyl, —  ^/7"  he  exclaimed,  with  deep, 
almost  reproachful  energy  ;  "  but,  in  good  truth,  I  am  a 
poor  dissembler,  and  could  scarcely  feign,  w^ere  it  to  win 
even  your  heart,  Sybil ;  and,  for  it  seems  I  must  confess 
me,  I  am  somewhat,  though  slightly,  ill  at  ease — " 

"  I  knew  it  at  a  glance,"  she  interrupted  him ;  "  and 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  59 

wherefore  then  conceal  it  ?  —  Good  Dr.  Masters,  though 
somewhat  past  his  prime,  still  ministers,  and  skilfully,  to 
his  familiar  patients ;  an  hour  will  have  him  here  — "  and 
she  moved  hastily  toward  a  silver  hand-bell,  which  stood, 
with  books,  and  drawings,  and  a  lady's  lute,  upon  a  deli 
cate  cabinet  of  tortoise-shell  and  marquetry. 

"  Nay  !  nay ! "  he  cried,  gently  arresting'  her,  "  I  meant 
not  so !  Be  not  alarmed,  dear  Sibyl,  mine  is  a  robust 
frame,  not  oft  or  easily  affected  by  aught  of  feebleness  or 
ailment.  My  mind  hath  been  of  late  somewhat  over 
wrought  ;  but  a  few  days,  consumed  in  the  enjoyment  of 
home-happiness  and  the  delights  of  your  society,  shall 
speedily  restore  me.  Look  not  so  grave,  so  sad,  I  be 
seech  you." 

"Oh,  Edgar,"  she  interrupted  him  again,  "tell  me,  if 
you  do  love  me,  tell  me  all!  long  years  have  we  been 
parted  —  parted,  as  I  have  hoped  —  as,  from  your  kind 
and  fervent  letters,  I  have  well  believed  —  in  body,  not 
in  soul !  and  is  it  now,  oh,  is  it  to  be  thus  ?  Are  we  to 
be  but  more  divided,  when  we  are  more  together  ?  Have 
we  but  met  to  be  more  widely  and  more  coldly  severed ! 
Oh !  if  you  love  me,  let  me  know  your  griefs !  Who  be 
fore  me  should  know  ?  —  or  who,  as  I,  would  share  them  ?" 

"All  —  all,"  he  answered,  in  the  hollow  voice  of  one 
who  struggles  vainly  with  his  feelings,  forcing  a  smile  as 
faint  as  a  December's  sunbeam, — "  you  shall  share  all, 
grief,  happiness,  life,  death,  eternity! — All,  all,  sweet 
Sibyl,  if  indeed  you  be  so  minded !  From  you  I  have  had, 
I  will  have  no  secrets ;  but  now,  I  do  assure  you,  I  am 
not  in  grief,  how  should  I  ?  Something  of  gloomy  thought 
may  have  come  over  me,  something  of  moody  sadne  s, 
causeless  and  senseless,  such  as  will  iloat  at  times  across 
the  brains  of  all  who  think  —  as  I  do  —  deeply.  But  no, 
Sibyl,  no;  I  am  not  unhappy!  Not  for  the  proudest 
station  upon  earth  would  I  exchange  this  fond  proximity 
to  you  —  not  for  the  universal  blast  of  the  world's  appro 
bation  would  I  barter  that  bright  tear,  shed  for  me,  Sibyl, 
or  that  yet  brighter  smile  that  chases  it.  Cheer  up,  my 
own,  own  love ;  we  will  talk  more  of  this  anon,  for  lo ! 
there  comes  my  father ! " 

And  as  he  spoke,  attired  in  hunter's  garb  of  green, 


60  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

booted  to  the  mid-thigh,  with  bugle-horn  and  wood-knife 
usurping  the  place  of  rapier  and  of  poniard,  and  with  two 
gallant  stag-hounds  at  his  heel,  the  noble  veteran  entered. 

"  Alert —  alert !  "  he  cried,  with  a  gay  smile ;  "  you  of 
young  blood  !  Methought  I  was  myself  full  early  stir 
ring,  but  here  are  you,  in  rising  as  in  all  else,  beforehand 
with  me.  What  *ho!  you  loitering  knaves,  hurry  our 
breakfast !  'Tis  a  rare  morning,  Edgar  ;  a  soft  mild  wind, 
a  heavy  dew  last  eventide,  and  the  clouds  gently  rising. 
Old  Stavely  tells  me  he  has  harbored  a  right  hart  of 
grease,  a  stag  of  ten — and  I  have  sent  out  riders  these 
four  hours  ago  to  rouse  the  country.  The  Outrams  will 
be  here  anon ;  you  mind  the  Outrams,  boy,  your  college 
mates  of  yore,  and  now  right  noble  gallants ;  and  Ather- 
stone,  of  Ashstead  Hall,  and  old  Lord  Middleton,  with  his 
brave  sons !  Friends  all  —  true  friends,  though  some  of 
them,  I  doubt,  almost  forgotten  !  But,  'fore  George,  we 
will  make  a  day  of  it !  " 

Thus  the  old  man  ran  on,  overlooking  in  his  light-heart 
ed  cheerfulness  the  evident  abstraction  of  his  listeners, 
although  they  rallied  up  enough  of  animation  to  maintain 
some  sort  of  conversation  during  their  hasty  meal,  which 
scarce  was  ended,  when  Sir  Henry  started  from  his  seat. 

"  See  !  see !  "  he  cried,  as  a  fair  cavalcade  swept  past 
the  windows,  their  plumes  waving  in  the  light  west  wind, 
spurs  jingling,  and  steeds  curvetting  —  "  see  !  they  are 
here,  even  now ;  and  lo  !  the  pack !  "  As,  with  their  at 
tendant  huntsmen  and  half  a  score  of  prickers,  splendidly 
mounted  on  blood  horses,  in  forest  jerkins  sumptuously 
laced,  round  caps,  and  huge  French  horns  encircling  their 
shoulders,  restrained  by  many  an  echoing  shout  and  many 
a  clanging  lash,  some  twenty  couple  of  tall  northern  blood 
hounds  came  trotting  slowly  up  the  lawn,  in  all  that  accu- 
racy  of  condition  and  perfection  of  detail  which  has,  in 
every  period  of  her  history,  been  so  distinctive  of  the 
field-sports  of  England ! 

"Fly,  Sibyl  —  ny,  my  lassie,"  cried  the  impatient  vet 
eran.  "Do  on  your  riding  gear  right  speedily.  Ariel  is 
champing  on  his  bits  even  now  to  summon  you  !  Edgar 
and  I  meanwhile  will  look  to  our  guests  in  the  great  hall. 
Dally  not,  girl,  I  pray  you ;  the  sun  is  shrouded  even  now, 


THE  WANDERER  AT  HOME.  61 

and  the  scent  will  lie  most  bravely.  I  would  not,  to  be 
Prince  of  Wales,  lose  such  a  morning !  What  ho !  my 
jovial  roisters,"  he  continued  in  a  louder  tone,  striding 
into  the  huge  vaulted  hall  through  one  door,  as  his  fair 
niece  vanished  at  the  other.  "What  ho  !  my  jovial  rois 
ters,"  addressing  the  laughing  group  who  waited  his  arri 
val.  "  Here  have  you  an  old  friend,  whom  some  of  you 
perchance  have  not  as  yet  forgotten."  And  with  a  prouder 
air  and  more  exulting  smile,  he  introduced  his  gallant  son, 
unseen  for  many  a  year,  to  his  admiring  friends. 

A  short  half  hour  flitted  pleasantly  away  hi  heartfelt 
greetings  and  gay  converse  of  light  moment,  but  lively, 
joyous,  and  sincere.  Then  every  high-plumed  hat  was 
doffed,  and  every  voice  was  lowered,  as  Sibyl  Arden,  with 
her  attendant  maidens,  meetly  equipped  for  the  field,  en 
tered  the  hall !  "  To  horse !  to  horse  !  "  and  the  ladies 
were  assisted  to  their  velvet  side-saddles,  by  favored  cava 
liers,  and  the  gallants  vaulted  to  their  saddles,  and  threw 
their  chargers  on  their  haunches  by  dint  of  curb  and  spur, 
and  drew  their  forms  to  the  most  graceful  attitude,  as  with 
courtly  merriment  and  sylvan  music  they  swept  away 
through  shadowy  avenues  and  over  shaven  lawns,  to  the 
wilder  coppices  and  more  secluded  glades  of  chase  and 
forest. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

A     STAGHUNT     I  NT  E  ERUPTED. 

I  was  with  Hercules  and  Cadmus  once, 
When,  in  the  woods  of  Crete  they  bayed  the  bear 
With  hounds  of  Sparta;  never  did  I  hear 
Such  gallant  chidine ;  for  beside  the  groves, 
The  skies,  the  fountains,  every  region  near 
Seemed  all  one  mutual  cry ;  I  never  heard 
So  musical  a  discord,  such  sweet  thunder. 

A  MIDSUMMER'B-NIGHT'S  DEEAM. 

THE  hunt  was  at  its  height.  The  noble  stag  —  which 
had  been  harbored  on  the  previous  night  in  a  deep 
swampy  thicket,  situate  at  the  extreme  western  verge  of 


62  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  cliase,  and  adjoining  a  wild  tract  of  semi-cultivated 
moorland,  disdaining  to  seek  refuge  in  the  recesses  of  the 
devious  woodland,  had  broken  covert  gallantly,  as  the 
first  crash  of  deep-mouthed  music  burst  from  his  stanch 
pursuers.  Then,  clearing  by  a  gigantic  effort  the  rough 
park  palings,  he  had  taken  to  the  open  country,  crossing 
hill  and  dale  in  a  line  scarce  less  direct  than  the  crow's 
flight,  and  at  a  pace  that,  ere  an  hour  had  passed,  re 
duced  the  number  of  those  who  followed  the  now  mute 
and  panting  hounds  from  a  score  or  two  of  fearless  horse 
men  to  a  scant  half-dozen  of  the  boldest  and  best-mounted 
riders.  The  ladies  of  the  party  had  long  since  been  thrown 
out,  scarcely  indeed  having  cantered  a  half  mile  along  the 
nearest  road,  after  the  hounds  had  left  the  confines  of  the 
park ;  but  still  the  foremost  of  the  iield,  with  all  the  hair- 
brained  courage  of  a  boy,  and  all  the  deep  sagacious  fore 
sight  of  a  veteran  sportsman,  rode  old  Sir  Henry  Arden  ; 
his  manly  features  flushed  with  the  excitement  of  his 
healthful  exercise,  and  his  gray  hair  floating  in  the  current 
of  air  created  by  his  own  swift  motion,  as,  cap  in  hand, 
he  cheered  the  laggards  of  the  pack  with  a  voice  that  had 
lost  nothing  of  its  full-toned  roundness. 

At  length,  in  a  sequestered  dell,  clothed  on  each  hand 
with  a  dense  growth  of  underwood  feathering  its  rocky 
and  precipitous  declivities,  down  which  a  sandy  road 
wound  in  short  toilsome  curves,  and  watered  by  a  bright 
and  brawling  rivulet,  hard  pressed  and  weary,  the  brave 
quarry  turned  to  bay.  The  deep  note  of  the  leading 
hound  changed  to  a  shrill  and  savage  treble  as  he  viewed 
his  prey,  and  at  the  same  instant  the  loud  death-halloo 
rang  from  the  exulting  lips  of  the  old  baronet  as  he  caught 
and  comprehended  the  import  of  that  sharp  yell.  Another 
minute  brought  him  to  the  brink  of  a  wide  pool,  embayed 
between  rough  cliffs  of  sandstone,  and  overlooked  by  a 
gnarled  and  leafless  oak,  on  the  highest  branch  of  which  a 
solitary  raven  sat,  unmoved  by  the  fierce  clamor,  and  ex 
pecting,  with  a  sullen  croak,  its  share  of  the  quarry.  In 
the  farther  corner  of  this  basin,  clear  as  the  virgin  crystal 
in  its  ordinary  state,  but  turbid  now  and  lashed  to  foam 
by  the  wild  conflict  of  the  animals,  the  stag  had  turned  on 
his  pursuers  —  nor  had  he  turned  in  vain;  for  one,  a 


A  STAGHUNT  INTERRUPTED.  63 

brindled  bloodhound,  the  boldest  of  the  pack,  unseamed 
from  shoulder-blade  to  brisket  by  a  thrust  of  the  terrible 
brow-antler,  lay  underneath  his  stamping  hoofs  a  lifeless 
carcass ;  while  others  bayed  at  a  distance,  reluctant,  as  it 
seemed,  again  to  rush  upon  an  enemy  who  had  already  left 
such  painful  evidences  of  his  strength  and  valor  on  their 
gored  and  trampled  limbs.  Nor,  though  his  velvet  coat  was 
clogged  and  blackened  with  the  dust  and  sweat,  and 
though  the  big  tears  —  tokens  of  anguish  in  its  expression 
well-nigh  human  —  rolled  down  his  hairy  cheeks,  did  he 
exhibit  aught  of  craven  terror  at  the  approach  of  his  in 
veterate  pursuers ;  but,  as  the  veteran  advanced  upon 
him,  with  the  glittering  wood-knife  bared  and  ready,  leav 
ing  the  dogs,  as  if  beneath  his  notice,  he  dashed  with  a 
bold  spring  against  his  human  persecutor,  eye,  hoof,  and 
horn  in  perfect  concert  of  quick  movement, 

The  slightest  tremor  in  the  huntsman's  nerves,  the  most 
trifling  slip  or  stumble,  might  have  well  proved  fatal ;  but, 
although  seventy  winters  had  shed  their  snows  upon  his 
head,  his  muscles  had  been  indurated  so  by  constant  exer 
cise  in  his  beloved  field-sports,  that  many  a  younger  arm 
had  failed  in  rivalling  their  powerful  though  unelastic 
firmness.  When  the  despairing  deer  made  his  last  effort, 
eluding  by  a  rapid  turn  his  formidable  front,  Sir  Henry 
struck  a  full  blow  as  he  passed,  completely  severing  the 
tendons  of  the  hinder  leg.  Hamstrung  and  crippled,  the 
gallant  brute  plunged  headlong  forward,  and  received, 
the  next  instant,  the  keen  point  in  his  gullet.  One  short 
gurgling  bleat,  and  two  or  three  convulsive  struggles  of 
the  agile  limbs  followed.  The  full  eye  glazed,  and  in  a 
moment  all  the  fiery  energy,  the  bounding  life,  that  had 
so  lately  animated  that  beautiful  form,  were  utterly  ex 
tinct  forever.  Then  came  the  thundering  shouts,  and  the 
long  cadences  of  the  French  horns,  their  joyous  notes 
multiplied  by  the  ringing  echoes,  and  sent  back  from  ev 
ery  heath-clad  knoll  or  craggy  eminence.  The  merry 
narrative  of  harmless  accidents  ensued,  the  self-cogratu- 
lations  of  the  select  and  lucky  few,  who,  from  the  start  to 
the  death,  had  kept  the  hounds  in  view,  the  queries  for 
the  absent,  the  praises  of  some  favorite  horse  or  daring 
rider,  the  stingless  raillery,  the  honest  unfeigned  laughter. 


64  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  Who  hath  seen  young  Arden  ?  What  chance  hath 
hindered  Edgar?"  suddenly  inquired  one  of  the  younger 
of  the  party. 

"  Edgar  not  here  !  "  exclaimed  his  father,  for  the  first 
time  discovering  his  absence  ;  "  Edgar  riot  here !  'Fore 
George !  but  he  must  bide  the  jest  for  this !  " 

"  'T  is  strange,  Sir  Henry  —  passing  strange,  though  ! " 
interposed  an  old  gray-headed  forester.  "  None  here  can 
beat  the  master's  horsemanship ;  and  that  brown  mare 
hath  the  pace  in  her,  and  the  bottom  too.  Pray  Heaven 
he  be  not  hurt." 

"  I  fear  he  may  —  I  fear  he  may  be  hurt,"  exclaimed 
another.  "He  was  beside  me  just  before  we  crossed  the 
northern  road.  I  marked  him  charge  the  Hartley  burn 
right  gallantly,  and  noticed  the  mare's  stride  —  nigh  thirty 
feet,  I  warrant  it." 

In  a  moment  or  two,  the  wonder  had  increased  until  it 
might  be  called  anxiety  —  excitement  —  the  more  so,  as 
at  intervals  the  laggards  of  the  chase  came  straggling  in, 
•with  mud-stained  garb  and  jaded  horses;  yet  none 
brought  tidings  of  the  absent  cavalier.  At  length,  sound 
ing  their  horns  from  time  to  time,  they  turned  their  horses' 
heads  toward  home,  asking  for  tidings  of  their  missing 
comrade  from  every  traveller  or  peasant  they  encountered. 
Nothing  did  they  learn,  however,  till  they  had  reached 
the  park,  when  an  unlucky  groom,  leading  his  lame  and 
weary  hunter  by  the  rein,  informed  them  that  the  young 
master  had  been  accosted,  as  he  crossed  the  great  north 
road,  by  a  passing  stranger — a  marvellously  sour-looking 
knave,  the  servant  said,  with  a  cropped  pate  and  puritanic 
garb ;  that  he  had  curbed  his  horse  to  listen  to  him,  and 
on  the  receiving  of  some  packet  or  despatches,  he  knew 
not  whether,  had  ridden  slowly  homeward  in  deep  con 
verse  with  the  bearer. 

"  St.  George !  and  with  a  Puritan !  "  cried  one  of  the 
young  Outrams,  a  hair-brained,  light-hearted  cavalier — "  a 
rascally,  starved  roundhead !  " 

"  He  must  be  strangely  altered  then,  I  trow,"  muttered 
the  aged  huntsman,  who  perhaps  had  taught  him  when  a 
boy  to  ride  so  well,  "  an'  he  be  gone  home  with  a  musty 


A  STAGIIUXT  INTERRUPTED.  65 

beggar  —  the  hounds  running  breast  high,  too,  o'er  the 
vale  of  Bardsey  !  " 

"  Tush !  tell  me  not ;  he  is  too  true  an  Arden,"  cried 
his  father,  almost  angrily,  "  that  he  should  e'er  consort 
with  base  and  brutal  fanatics,  Heaven's  curse  upon 
them ! " 

It  was  true,  notwithstanding  —  the  report  of  the  fallen 
rider  —  to  its  most  minute  particular  of  circumstance ;  for 
as  Edgar  leaped  the  fence  into  the  road,  and  pulled  upon 
his  rein  to  spare  his  horse's  feet  on  the  rough  pavement,  a 
strange-looking  man,  gaunt,  grim,  and  tall,  with  an  affect 
ed  air  of  sanctified  austerity  on  his  pinched  features,  wear 
ing  his  coarse  and  foxy  hair  shorn  close  to  the  skin,  and 
clipped  into  small  peaks  alike  unseemly  and  ridiculous, 
with  a  tall  steeple-crowned  hat,  and  a  sad-colored  doublet, 
threadbare  and  travel-worn,  presenting  altogether  an  ap 
pearance  as  dissimilar  as  possible  to  that  of  a  gentleman, 
called  to  him  in  a  pert  shrill  voice  — 

"  Canst  tell  the  distance  hence  to  Woodleigh,  master  — 
the  residence  of  Arden,  him  men  call  Sir  Henry,  cumber 
ing  their  tongues  with  vain  distinctions,  titles  alike  un 
savory  and  profitless  ?  " 

"  A  brief  three  miles,"  frankly  returned  the  cavalier. 
"But  you  may  spare  yourself  even  that  short  distance,  an' 
you  list.  There  rides  Sir  Henry" — he  on  the  chestnut 
horse !  I  will  o'ertake  and  stop  him,  an'  your  business 
may  not  tarry !  " 

"  Nay,  friend,"  returned  the  other,  "  my  call  is  not  with 
the  old,  vain-minded,  carnal  cavalier,  but  with  his  son — a 
godly  youth,  men  say  —  honest  and  sanctified !  yea,  one 
of  the  elect  — " 

"  A  truce  to  thine  impertinence,  sir  knave ! "  Edgar 
replied,  in  a  quick,  angry  tone ;  "  a  truce  to  thine  imperti 
nence,  an'  thou  wouldst  not  receive  its  wages ;  nor  deem 
thy  fulsome  flattery  toward  myself  shall  anywise  excuse 
thy  ribald  scoffing  at  my  father !  Begone,  sir ;  tempt  me, 
an'  you  be  wise,  no  farther  !  "  and  he  had  already  touched 
his  mare  with  the  spur  in  order  to  regain  his  place  beside 
the  hounds,  which  had  gained  on  him  some  two  field's 
width  during  the  interruption,  when  the  Puritan  reined 
his  hackney  short  across  the  path,  crying  out  in  a  voice 

5 


66  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

somewhat  diminished  of  its  self-importance,  "Nay!  no 
offense !  "  he  said ;  "  for  if  thou  be'st  the  man,  'twere 
worth  thy  while  to  tarry.  1  am  the  bearer  of  a  letter  ! 
yea,  of  two  letters,  for  the  good  youth,  Edgar  Arden.  I 
pray  thee  to  relieve  me  of  the  charge." 

"  Begone,  sir  !  To  your  duty  !  "  again  vociferated  Ar 
den,  in  a  tone  yet  sterner  than  he  had  used  before.  "  Be 
gone  to  Woodleigh  and  await  my  leisure.  When  I  re 
turn,  't  will  be,  I  warrant  me,  full  soon  enough  to  look  to 
these  despatches.  I  know  not  who  should  write  to  me  by 
such  a  low  and  scurvy  comrade,  that  I  should  lose  my  sport 
to  minister  to  his  convenience  !  " 

"Well,  be  it  as  thou  wilt,"  muttered  the  Puritan ;  "but, 
an'  John  Milton's — worshipful  John  Milton's  letter  meet 
with  no  better  treatment,  I  had  as  well  wend  back  again 
to  Huntingdon ! " 

"  Milton  !  ha  !  "  answered  Arden,  who  had  already 
moved  to  some  considerable  distance  before  he  caught 
the  name ;  "  Milton !  why  saidst  not  so  before,  perverse 
and  insolent  ?  Dally  with  me  no  farther,  thou  wert  best, 
but  give  at  once  thy  missives,  and  follow  me  direct  to 
Woodleigh." 

Ere  he  had  finished  speaking  he  received  the  packets — 
the  one  a  large  and  cumbrous  parcel,  wrapped  in  a  skin 
of  thick  discolored  parchment,  and  fastened  by  a  triple 
band  of  flaxen  thread,  with  a  huge  seal  stamped  with  ar 
morial  bearings,  charged  on  a  broad  municipal  escutcheon 
— the  other  a  small  neatly-folded  letter  of  smooth  white 
vellum,  secured  by  a  skein  of  delicate  floss  silk  and  a  drop 
of  wax  impressed  with  a  superb  antique  —  the  stern  and 
rigid  features  of  the  elder  Cato.  The  former  was  ad 
dressed,  with  cramped  mercantile  penmanship,  to  "Edgar, 
son  of  the  worshipful  Sir  Henry  Arden,  knight  banneret, 
and  baronet  of  Woodleigh,  nigh  to  Buxton,  in  the  good 
shire  of  Derby,  with  haste  and  diligence,  post  haste ! " 
The  latter  was  directed,  in  a  beautiful  but  bold  and  manly 
hand,  "To  the  noble  youth  Edgar  Arden."  This  was 
the  first  he  opened,  and  a  pleasing  smile  played  over  his 
fine  features  as  he  perused  the  well-turned  periods  of  his 
already  celebrated  friend. 


A  STAGHUXT  INTERRUPTED.  67 

"  I  much  rejoice  to  hear,"  —  thus  did  the  letter  run  — 
"  most  excellent  and  esteemed  sir,  that  you  have  now  ac 
complished,  with  no  hurt  or  detriment,  your  long  looked- 
for  return  to  England ;  and,  what  redounds  so  vastly  to 
your  credit,  that  you  have  come,  weaning  your  thirsty 
soul  from  those  delicious  draughts  of  pure  Parnassian  wa 
ters  in  which  you  have  so  bathed  of  late  your  fancy,  and 
casting  aside  your  delectation  in  those  Italian  cities 
wherein  you  have  so  profited  by  cultivating  high  pur 
suits  of  literature  and  conversations  of  the  learned,  to 
turn  the  complete  vis  and  vigor  of  your  intellect  toward 
the  miserable  strait  in  which  our  native  land  lies  strug 
gling,— 

'Ut  clausus  Gyarse  scopulis  parvaque  Seripho,' 

a  strait  so  fearful,  that  she  well-nigh  has  lost,  not  only  the 
fruition,  present  and  temporal,  of  her  liberties,  both  civil 
and  religious,  but  the  very  hope  of  their  redemption. 

"  And  yet  more  earnestly  do  I  rejoice  that  you  are 
called  so  suddenly,  and  with  so  honorable  circumstance, 
to  take  your  place  in  that  high  council  of  the  nation,  for 
which  your  genius  and  your  talents  so  excellently  do  be 
fit  you!  I  would  not  wish  you  in  so  much  to  ponder  on 
the*  character  and  fashions  of  them  that  have  united  in 
this  tribute  to  your  worth,  if  they  should  be  in  aught  — 
although  good  patriots  and  true — distasteful  to  your  feel 
ings  ;  as  on  the  mighty  services  you  well  may  be  an  in 
strument  to  render,  and  on  the  duty  paramount,  which 
should  enforce  you  so  to  render  them,  in  that  most  glori 
ous  and  free  assemblage  on  which  hangs  every  hope  of 
England.  But,  with  respect  to  this,  without  requiring 
my  injunctions,  you  have  an  admirable  monitor,  a  very 
entire  and  pure  guide,  in  your  own  sense  of  right,  which 
to  obey  is  to  be  virtuous  and  wise,  and  in  obeying  which 
you  shall  at  once  fulfill  the  wishes  of  your  oppressed  and 
lamentable  country,  and  give  the  highest  pleasure  to  your 
well-wisher  and  friend  constantly. 

"JOHN  MILTON. 

" From  my  villa,  Aldersgate,  Oct.  12,  1641." 


68  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

The  calm  deliberation  with  which  the  cavalier  had 
opened  and  applied  himself  to  read  the  familiar  letter  of 
his  trusty  fellow-traveller,  gave  way,  long  ere  he  had  con 
cluded,  to  manifest  and  restless  eagerness ;  and  if  he  read 
it  through  before  he  tore  asunder  the  fastenings  of  the 
larger  packet,  it  was  rather  that  he  hoped  within  itself  to 
find  a  clew  whereby  to  solve  its  mystery,  than  that  he 
was  indifferent  to  learn  what  was  the  nature  of  the  call 
to  which  his  friend  alluded.  But  when  he  closed  it,  still 
in  ignorance  of  that  which  it  behooved  him  most  to  know, 
his  color  went  and  came,  and  his  hear-t  beat  quick  as 
he  turned  hastily  to  the  sole  remaining  source  of  infor 
mation. 

The  paper  that  first  caught  his  eye  on  opening  the 
packet  was  a  fair  document,  in  large  clear  characters,  en 
grossed  on  vellum,  and  purporting  to  be  an  invitation 
from  the  freeholders  of  the  good  town  of  Huntingdon  to 
Edgar  Arden,  that  he  would  present  himself  a  candidate 
to  till  the  seat,  as  member  for  their  borough  in  the  most 
worshipful  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  lately 
made  vacant  by  the  untimely  death  of  their  regretted  and 
right  trusty  delegate,  Elias  Chaloner.  Tho  second  was  a 
brief,  explanatory  statement,  signed  by  the  may  or  and 
several  of  the  leading  burghers  of  the  town,  assuring  him, 
that  all  he  had  to  do  in  order  to  secure  election  was  to 
make  known- to  them  his  willingness  to  serve  in  parlia 
ment,  as  no  other  candidate  was  in  the  field ;  nor,  if  there 
were,  could  any  have  the  smallest  chance  of  coping  with 
success  against  a  nominee  so  universally  admired  and  ap 
proved  by  every  class  of  voters.  No  pledge  was  asked ; 
no  line  of  conduct  indicated,  to  which  it  was  expected 
that  he  should  adhere  ;  no  reference  required  or  question 
offered  as  to  his  attachment  to  either  of  the  parties,  be 
tween  which  the  whole  of  England  was  at  that  time 
divided. 

They  were  sufficiently  assured,  the  letter  stated,  of  the 
integrity,  the  wisdom,  and  the  constancy  of  him  on  whom 
their  choice  had  fallen  —  so  well  assured,  that  they  were 
perfectly  content,  without  condition  specified  or  question 
asked,  to  place  their  interests,  their  hopes,  their  fortunes, 
and,  if  need  were,  their  lives,  at  his  disposal.  In  mute 


A  STAGIIUXT  INTERRUPTED.  69 

astonishment  he  read  successively  these  several  docu 
ments  ;  and  still,  the  more  he  read,  the  more  his  wonder 
and  his  doubts  increased. 

That  he,  who  had  been  absent  from  the  land  of  his  fa 
thers  almost  from  the  day  on  which  he  first  wrote  man — 
that  he,  unstamped  by  any  public  act  or  private  declara 
tion  ;  uncommitted  to  any  party  or  opinion,  nay,  undeci 
ded,  for  aught  that  the  world  knew,  in  his  own  mind  as 
to  which  cause  he  should  espouse  in  the  approaching  con 
test,  foreseen  by  him  as  by  all  men  endowed  with  ordi 
nary  prescience  of  events  —  that  he  should  be  thus  sum 
moned,  within  two  weeks  of  his  arrival  in  his  native  coun 
try,  and  that  without  a  pledge,  to  fill  a  place  the  most 
conspicuous  to  which  a  private  individual  can  well  aspire 
—  that  he  should  be  thus  eminently  trusted,  and  by  men 
whose  very  names  were  strangers  to  his  ears'  whose 
town  he  had  never  even  entered  save  as  a  passing  trav 
eller;  whose  principles,  but  from  the  somewhat  formal 
and  affected  plainness  of  their  style,  together  with  the 
unseemly  pirments  and  austere  demeanor  of  their  mes 
senger,  he  I/  id  no  means  of  so  much  as  conjecturing ;  and 
who,  so  far  ?V3  he  could  comprehend,  must  be  still  more  at 
a  loss  to  judge  of  the  parts  or  principles  of  him,  to  whom 
they  had  so  confidently  offered  the  representation  of  their 
interests,  th  •  proxy  of  their  united  voices!  All  this  was 
indeed  sufficiently  embarrassing,  nay,  unaccountable  at 
any  time ;  an  1  the  more  so  at  a  period  when  political  in 
trigue  and  treachery  were  rife,  beyond  all  precedent, 
among  the  me  i  reputed  as  the  leaders  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation.  That  such  a  call  was  flattering,  and  that  in 
a  degree  not  t  ivial  or  accustomed,  could  not  be  doubted 
or  denied ;  but  while  he  felt  that  sweetest,  most  enno 
bling  of  sensations,  the  conviction  that  his  character  was 
understood  and  his  worth  appreciated  by  his  fellow-citi 
zens,  mingled  with  a  high  consciousness  that  his  elo 
quence,  his  learning,  and  experience  might  indeed  minis 
ter  not  smally  to  the  welfare  of  his  country,  Arden  was 
yet  perplexed,  anxious,  and  doubt  ml. 

Nor  did  it  seem  that  he  was  destined  easily  or  by  any 
effort  of  his  own  to  extricate  himself  from  this  uncertain 
ty  ;  for  when,  after  musing  long  and  vainly  on  the  cir- 


70  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

cumstances  connected  with  the  preparation  and  forward 
ing  of  the  letters,  he  turned  for  information  to  the  mes 
senger,  that  worthy,  perhaps  resenting  with  the  rancor 
of  a  petty  mind  the  merited  rebuke  of  Edgar,  perhaps 
himself  ignorant  of  the  facts  and  unwilling  to  admit  his 
ignorance,  wrapped  himself  up  in  such  a  veil  of  real  or 
pretended  dullness  as  defied  every  species  of  cross-exam 
ination  applied  to  wring  from  his  fanatic  obstinacy  the  re 
luctant  truth. 

He  had  been  sent,  he  said,  an  hired  messenger,  to  carry 
certain  missives,  not  to  expound  enigmas,  nor  to  illumi 
nate  the  darkness  of  those  whom  it  might  be,  Jehovah 
had  for  their  sins  involved  in  the  dark  night  of  ignorance. 
He  knew  not  aught  of  the  matter;  nor,  if  he  had  known, 
should  he  have  deemed  it  fitting  to  reveal  that  which 
those  worthy  persons,  his  employers,  had  found  it  meet 
to  leave  uncertain.  The  burgh  of  Huntingdon,  he  an 
swered,  when  Edgar  varied  the  subject  and  the  manner 
of  his  investigation,  was  a  true  town  and  godly  ;  its  late 
member,  good  Elias  Chaloner,  a  man  learned  beyond  his 
fellows,  not  in  the  vain  and  carnal  lore  of  the  idolatrous 
and  God-defying  heathen,  but  in  the  pure  and  sanctifying 
wisdom  of  the  gospel !  Of  its  politics  he  knew  not  any 
thing,  nor  cared.  Some  cavaliers  there  were  —  debosht 
rakehelly  profligates  —  such  as  the  Knight  of  Hinchin- 
brook,  uncle  of  worthy  Master  Cromwell,  now  sitting  in 
the  commons  house  for  the  right  saintly  town  of  Cam 
bridge,  and  others  not  a  few.  But  of  a  truth  the  citizens, 
craftsmen,  and  artisans,  ay,  and  the  mayor  and  council, 
were  pious  and  God-fearing  men,  seeking  the  Lord  al- 
way,  day  and  night,  in  prayer  and  meditation.  For  the 
rest,  if  it  were  so  that  they  had  summoned  Master  Ar- 
den  to  be  their  deputy  in  parliament,  verily  theirs  was 
the  power  to  do  so  —  ay,  and  they  knew  right  well  the 
wherefore !  They  were  not  men,  he  trowed,  to  leap  i' 
the  dark  and  to  repent  at  leisure.  If  Master  Arden 
thought  it  good  to  suit  himself  to  this  promotion,  his,  as 
was  very  fitting,  would  be  the  honor  and  advancement. 
If  not,  the  men  of  Huntingdon  would  be  at  little  trouble 
to  elect  as  good  a  statesman  if  not  one  abler  to  represent 
their  voices. 


A  STAGHUNT  INTERRUPTED.  71 

In  this  unsatisfied  and  dubious  state  of  mind  Edgar, 
with  his  uncourtly  comrade,  arrived  at  the  park  gates ; 
and,  quickening  his  pace,  rode  hastily  along  the  noble  av 
enue  of  elms  to  the  main  entrance,  flung  his  rein  to  a 
groom,  and  consigning  his  companion  to  the  attentions  of 
the  gray-headed  steward,  passed  with  a  hurried  and  ir 
regular  step  to  his  own  chamber ;  there,  in  undisturbed 
and  silent  solitude,  to  ponder  on  his  singular  position.  An 
hour  fled  by,  as  with  his  head  propped  on  his  hands,  and 
his  eyes  eyes  fixed  on  the  characters  of  which  his  mind 
however  took  no  note,  he  racked  his  brain  with  almost 
hopeless  efforts  to  conjecture  who  might  be  the  secret 
movers  in  this  matter.  That  his  friend  Milton  had  ever 
been  an  ardent  votary  of  liberty,  in  its  most  liberal  and 
extended  sense — a  dreamer  of  those  bright  Utopian  vis 
ions  concerning  perfect  commonwealths  and  absolute 
equality  of  man,  which,  in  whatever  age  or  country,  never 
have  been — never  can  be  realized — a  modeller  of  consti 
tutions  excellent  in  contemplation,  but  untested  by  expe 
rience  ;  or,  if  tested  by  the  self-styled  republics,  but,  in 
truth,  either  perfect  aristocracies  or  absolute  -democra 
cies,  of  early  Rome  or  earlier  Greece,  proved  only  to  be 
fickle,  changeful,  and  unstable,  Arden  well  knew.  Often 
with  delighted  ears  had  he  listened,  and  with  a  mind  that 
yielded  to  the  enthralling  grandeur  of  those  theoretic 
dreamings,  while  it  perceived  their  fallacy,  to  the  deep- 
souled  and  burning  eloquence  with  which  the  great  poet 
loved  to  advocate  his  wild  but  splendid  projects.  He 
had  moreover  heard,  that  subsequently  to  his  return  from 
Italy,  the  sage  enthusiast  had  devoted  himself  with  stern 
and  self-denying  application  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
most  rigid  puritanic  forms  of  Protestant  morality  and 
doctrines  against  the  laxer  customs  of  the  Church  of  En 
gland,  at  that  time  assimilating  itself  daily  more  and  more, 
through  the  bigoted  obstinacy  of  its  reckless  monarch, 
and  of  that  most  dangerous  of  all  his  counsellors,  the 
haughty  and  half  papistical  Laud,  to  the  detested  ritual 
and  creed  of  Rome.  N"or  could  he  doubt,  well  as  he  was 
informed  of  the  almost  inseparable  league  between  Puri 
tanism  in  religion  and  the  love  of  freedom  in  the  state, 
that  the  already  celebrated  author  of  "  Reformation  in 


72  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

England,"  and  "  the  Reason  of  Church  Government,"  was 
no  less  strongly  interested  in  opposition  to  that  extension 
of  prerogative,  already  stretched  to  the  very  verge  of  ab 
solute  and  irresponsible  autocracy,  than  his  illustrious  ad 
mirers  and  associates,  Hampden  and  Pym. 

Still  he  could  not  easily  give  credence  to  the  fancy,  that 
Milton  only — for  to  him  alone,  of  all  those  patriots  with 
whom  his  spirit  sympathized  so  warmly  in  their  devoted 
struggles  hi  behalf  of  England's  constitution,  was  he  per 
sonally  or  intimately  known — should  have  possessed  the 
power  to  procure  him  that  untrammelled  offer  of  a  seat 
which  individuals  of  far  greater  eminence  might  have 
been  proud  to  occupy, 

Amid  these  painful  meditations,  too,  there  ran  a  mingled 
strain  of  deeper,  because  more  personal  disquietude — an 
agonizing  apprehension,  amounting  almost  to  a  certainty, 
that  a  seat  in  parliament,  entailing  on  him,  as  it  necessa 
rily  must,  the  highest  of  all  moral  obligations — binding 
him,  with  fetters  strong  as  his  own  inborn  sense  of  right, 
to  the  upholding  of  that  cause  which  his  mature  unbiased 
judgment  should  deem  right — must  set  him  on  the  in 
stant  in  direct  unnatural  opposition  to  his  father  ;  and  yet 
worse,  must  sever  him  from  her  whose  love  he  B  surely 
prized  above  all  mortal  blessings. 

It  was  in  vain  that  he  attempted  to  shake  off  the  leaden 
weight  of  this  dark  apprehension  ;  it  was  to  no  purpose 
that  hope  whispered  to  his  bosom  how  all  might  yet  be 
well ;  it  was  to  no  purpose  that  he  strove  to  reconcile  the 
diverse  paths  of  duty  and  of  pleasure.  A  dozen  times 
he  took  his  pen  in  hand  to  write  an  answer  to  the  perplex 
ing  invitation ;  and  as  often  threw  it  from  him  in  utter  in 
ability  to  frame  a  single  sentence.  Once,  at  suggestion  of 
his  warmer  passions,  and  yielding  to  the  persuasion  of  that 
single  grain  of  selfishness,  which  must  still  lurk  in  every 
bosom,  even  of  the  best  and  purest,  his  fingers  traced 
three  lines  of  absolute  denial ;  but,  ere  the  clause  was  fin 
ished,  the  juster  sense  returned,  and  the  torn  sheet  was 
in  an  instant  shrivelling  amid  the  logs  that  crackled  on 
the  hearthstone.  "  No,  no  ! "  he  cried  aloud,  in  the  low, 
husky  tones  which  tell  so  surely  of  inward  excitement. 
"  No,  no — my  country — never  will  I  fail  thee  at  thine  ut- 


A  STAGIIUNT  INTERRUPTED.  73 

most  need !  What  though  my  heart  be  broken  in  the 
strife — what  though  I  lose  all  things  that  make  this  earth 
a  paradise  and  nut  a  desert — what  though  I  perish,  or,  yet 
worse,  live  homeless,  friendless,  fatherless,  abandoned, 
hated  by  whom  I  most  adore,  and  cursed  by  whom  I 
bless — what  though  I,  I,  one  man  and  for  one  little  life, 
must  bear  all  anguish  that  a  life  can  compass, — shall  I  for 
this  shrink  back,  knowing  that  England  needs  the  voice, 
the  hand,  the  life  of  every  son  she  has,  to  save  her  from 
destruction — to  redeem  her  living  millions — her  millions 
yet  unborn,  from  countless  centuries  of  servitude  and 
sorrow !  The  cup — the  cup  is  filled !  God  grant  me 
strength  to  drain  it — ay,  to  the  very  dregs !  " 

And  with  a  calm  unfaltering  hand  he  drew  a  brief  but 
full  acceptance  of  the  trust  so  proffered  to  his  choice, 
pledging  himself  to  act,  so  long  as  he  should  represent 
their  voices,  so,  and  so  only,  as  his  own  heart  should 
dictate. 

"  I  would,"  he  wrote,  "  before  investing  myself  with 
the  great  and  onerous  responsibility  you  wish  to  impose 
upon  me — I  would  that  you  should  clearly  know  and  com 
prehend  my  principles  and  rule  of  action.  All  party  I 
disclaim — all  preconceived  opinion  from  my  soul  I  disa 
vow  !  To  hold  the  freedom  of  our  land  inviolate — of  our 
religion  pure,  I  do  esteem  the  first  of  duties.  But  the 
freedom  which  I  look  to — I  do  pray  you  mark  me  now, 
so  shall  there  be  no  blame  hereafter — is  the  freedom  of 
our  British  Constitution,  not  the  licentious  anarchy  of 
democratic  innovation ;  and  the  religion  which  I  will 
maintain  is  the  religion  of  my  fathers,  the  reformed  Church 
of  England,  equally  aloof  from  the  debasing  superstitions 
of  the  Romish  creed,  and  from  the  stern  fanaticism  of 
Calvinistic,  Anabaptist,  or  Independent  sectaries.  If, 
then,  knowing  these  my  tenets  both  of  church  and  state, 
you  make  it  your  election  still  to  go  forward  in  this  mat 
ter,  I  shall  so  labor,  with  such  powers  both  of  mind  and 
body  as  God  in  his  good  wisdom  has  assigned  me,  as  I 
may  deem  the  fittest  to  secure  unto  ourselves,  and  unto 
our  posterity  forever,  the  blessings  of  a  government  at 
once  liberal  and  firm,  of  a  religion  pure,  no  less  than  tol 
erant  and  free.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  doubt  in  aught 


74  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

my  motives,  or  disapprove  my  principles  as  stated  hereto 
fore  ;  if  you  do  look  that  I  should  yield  at  any  time,  or 
under  any  circumstance,  my  own  conviction  to  the  opin 
ion  or  the  prejudice  of  others,  even  of  yourselves,  my 
own  constituents,  then  make  at  once  a  fresh  selection, 
choosing  a  man  more  suited  to  your  purposes ;  accepting 
in  meanwhile  my  high  consideration  of  the  honor  you 
have  done  me,  in  thus  summoning  me,  as  yet  a  stranger, 
to  the  highest  station  of  your  trust." 

Scarcely  had  he  concluded  his  epistle,  ere  a  quick, 
heavy  footstep  sounded  through  the  corridor — approached 
his  chamber  door,  and  paused  beside  it,  followed  by  a 
short  firm  tap  upon  the  oaken  panel.  "  Now  comes  the 
crisis  of  my  fate,"  inwardly  muttered  Arden,  as,  recog 
nizing  the  footstep  of  his  father,  he  hurried  to  admit  him. 

"  So  studious,  Edgar  ?  "  cried  the  veteran ;  "  plunged 
to  your  very  neck  in  parchments! — The  matter  must,  I 
trow,  be  all-important,  that  should  have  won  you  home 
ward  from  such  music  as  was  ringing  in  your  ears,  when 
you  this  morning  left  us  in  the  Yale  of  Bardsey !  'Fore 
George,  but  he  ran  gallantly  and  straight,  poor  dapple ! 
— turned  him  to  bay  in  the  Witch  hollow  beneath  Leader 
hill — gored  brindled  Mortimer  to  the  death  ere  I  came 
up  with  him,  and  hurt  some  six  or  eight  of  the  others. 
What,  the  plague,  called  you  home  ?  What  clouds  your 
face  even  now  so  darkly  ?  Speak,  Edgar,  hast  ill  tidings  ?  " 

"  Not  ill,  sir,  not  ill  tidings,  but  of  weighty  import," 
answered  Arden,  as  his  father  threw  himself  upon  a  mas 
sive  settle  in  the  chimney  corner  ;  "  and  such  as  have 
urged  on  me  much  grave  thought  ere  I  might  answer 
them !  "  and,  as  he  spoke,  he  tendered  to  his  hand  the  in 
vitation  from  the  burgh  of  Huntingdon.  "  Here,  if  my 
visage  be  o'ercast,  here  shall  you  find  the  cause ;  and 
this,  when  you  shall  have  perused  the  first,  contains  my 
answer." 

With  deep  anxiety  did  the  eye  of  Edgar  dwell  upon 
the  keen,  intelligent  features  of  the  aged  man,  fitfully 
lighted  up_by  the  uncertain  gleams  from  the  piled  hearth 
— for  evening  had  crept  on  them  unperceived,  and  the 
sky  was  growing  dark  apace — as  he  read  the  letters  by 
the  firelight.  Changes  there  were  indeed  upon  the  broad 


A  STAGHUXT  INTERRUPTED.  75 

unwrinkled  forehead,  chasing  each  other  over  it  in  qnick 
succession.  Now  a  deep  frown  corded  the  muscles  of  the 
brow,  but  more  perhaps  from  the  effects  of  thought  than 
from  disgust  or  anger  ;  anon  it  was  relaxed,  and  a  more 
bland  expression  played  around  the  mouth,  and  the  full 
open  eye  shone  cheerfully.  Again  the  glance  was  clouded, 
and  the  lip  curled  in  scorn,  till  every  hair  of  his  mustache 
worked  as  it  were  instinct  with  life. 

"  The  roundhead  scurvy  villains !  "  he  exclaimed  at 
length,  striking  the  extended  parchment  forcibly  with  the 
forefinger  of  his  right  hand ;  "  the  base  mechanical  burgh 
ers  ! — I  marvel  they  should  dare  pollute  a  gentleman's  ear 
with  their  accursed  puritanic  cant.  You  have  refused 
them,  Edgar — indignantly  hurled  back  their  most  insult 
ing  proffer  in  their  teeth  !  Is  it  not  so  ? — now,  on  your 
life,  say  ay  !  " 

"  I  see  it  not  in  this  light,  sir,"  Edgar  replied,  respect 
fully  but  firmly ;  "  I  see  it  not  at  all  in  this  light ;  nor  is 
there  aught,  to  my  poor  comprehension,  either  of  cant  or 
insult  in  this  invitation." 

"  Doubtless  you  have  accepted  it !  this  flattering  invi 
tation  ! "  interrupted  the  old  man,  with  an  expression  of 
the  most  bitter  irony ;  "  doubtless  you  have  !  " 

"  I  have  accepted  it,"  calmly  returned  his  son ;  "  I 
have  indeed  accepted  it,  nor  can  I  possibly  conceive — " 

"  You  have  not,  Edgar  Arden,"  his  father  almost 
shouted,  as  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  spurning  the  footstool 
from  beneath  them  to  the  farther  corner  of  the  room ; 
"  you  have  not  dared  to  do  so  !  You !  you !  an  Arden — 
heir  to  some  twenty  generations  of  high-minded,  noble, 
loyal  cavaliers — you  blend  yourself  with  the  foul  puddle 
blood  of  craftsmen  and  pinched  beggarly  mechanics — you 
band  yourself  with  hypocrites  and  traitors  against  your 
church,  your  country,  and  your  king ! — No,  no  ! — it  can 
not  be ! " 

"  Indeed !  indeed !  it  could  not,"  replied  Edgar,  in 
tones  almost  femininely  soothing  ;  "  indeed  it  could  not 
be,  that  I  should  ever  mix  myself  with  aught  degenerate 
or  base,  much  less  with  aught  unprincipled  or  traitorous. 
But,  of  a  truth,  my  father,  I  apprehend  not  anything — 
though  straining  to  the  utmost  of  my  understanding — I 


76  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

apprehend  not  anything  here  written  to  imply  aught  that 
can  by  any  means  be  tortured  into  treason  or  fanaticism. 
Nay,  for  my  part,  I  find  not  aught  that  would  restrain 
me,'  if  I  should  be  so  minded,  from  degrading  loyalty, 
even  while  acting  as  the  member  for  this  very  borough, 
into  most  prostrate  oriental  slavishness;  from  bartering  our 
reformed  religion  for  Romish  superstition !  A  seat  is  prof 
fered  to  me  freely,  without  condition,  pledge,  or  hint  of  any 
interference.  Nay !  the  constituents  aver  that  they  refer 
themselves  in  all  things  to  my  judgment ;  submit  them 
selves  to  absolute  dictation  of  my  individual  will.  Now, 
sir,  it  seems  to  me — I  pray  you  so  far  pardon  me  as  to 
permit  me  to  speak  to  the  end — it  seems  to  me,  if — as  I  see 
no  cause  to  deem  them  such — these  men  of  Huntingdon 
be  fanatics  and  traitors,  there  cannot  be  a  better  mode  of 
frustrating  their  ill  intentions,  than  that  I,  who  most  assu 
redly  am  neither,  should  accept  their  offer,  and  represent 
their  bigoted  and  treasonable  voices  by  a  calm,  tolerant, 
and  patriotic  vote." 

Sir  Henry's  passions  had  displayed  their  progress  on 
his  features  during  his  son's  rejoinder  even  more  strongly 
and  with  more  definite  changes  than  before.  At  the  first, 
every  line  and  feature  was  inilamed  almost  to  bursting 
with  fierce  and  fiery  indignation,  varying  as  Edgar  pro 
ceeded  to  that  air  of  obstinate  unwilling  coolness  with 
which  a  man  resigns  himself  to  some  infliction  which  he 
may  not  avoid.  Then,  as  the  truth  of  what  was  said  im 
pressed  itself  by  slow  degrees  upon  his  senses,  he  listened 
with  attention  approaching  somewhat  to  respect,  till,  when 
the  last  sentence  fell  upon  his  ear,  and  he  fancied  that  the 
full  policy  of  his  son  was  there  disclosed  to  him,  the 
mighty  satisfaction  flashed  from  his  whole  face  as  he 
exclaimed — 

"Excellent!  I  was  dull  indeed!  excellent!  Edgar; 
and  so  hoist  the  knave  engineers,  e'en  with  their  own  pe 
tard!  'Fore  George,  but  you  surpass,  not  your  old 
father's  talents  only — that  you  did  ever — but  his  utter 
most  wishes  !  And  so,  when  the  fool  Puritans  would 
have  you  rob  the  church  and  manacle  the  king,  vote  like 
a  loyal  cavalier ! — Now  out  on  me  for  an  old  superannua 
ted  dolt  that  would  not  hear  or  comprehend !  " 


A  STAGHUNT  INTERRUPTED.  77 

"  Kay,  sir  ;  but  even  now,"  said  Edgar,  not  a  little  as 
tonished  by  this  ebullition  of  mistaken  pleasure — "  even 
now  you  do  misapprehend  me  somewhat.  I  have  accepted 
this  same  seat  in  the  commons,  giving  the  men  of  Hun 
tingdon  to  know  that  I  will  hold  myself  responsible  to  no 
authority  save  that  of  my  own  conscience.  Party,  or 
place,  I  hold  not  to,  nor  covet.  In  all  high  honor  and  in 
all  accordance  with  my  own  sense  of  what  is  just  and 
right,  will  I  vote  ever ! — If  these  men  should  dare  propose 
to  me,  or  hint  that  I  should  swerve  one  hair  breadth  from 
the  course  of  truth  and  honor,  then  would  I  surely  diso 
bey  them,  frustrate  them,  and  spurn  them.  But,  if  they 
should  prove  honest,  surely  I  will  compromise  no  tittle  of 
their  interests  or  their  opinions ;  and  so  far  am  I  from 
suspecting  aught  of  this,  that  I  do  well  believe  that  my 
constituents  will  prove  right  honest  men  and  true,  other 
wise,  under  favor  be  it  spoken,  I  deem  it  most  unlikely 
they  should  have  fixed  their  choice  on  me,  a  man  perhaps 
not  altogether  void  of  some  repute  of  honor,  and — if  un 
known  myself — at  least  a  scion  of  a  family  that  has  not 
ever  stooped  to  fraud  or  to  disgrace !  " 

"  Enough  said !  Edgar  ;  enough  said !  I  was  a  fool  to 
doubt  you ; "  and  the  old  man  grasped  his  hand  with 
warm  affection  as  he  answered,  while  a  tear  slid  down  his 
withered  cheek;  "  I  was  a  fool  to  doubt  you — for  you 
were  ever  true  and  noble,  as  I  was  ever  over-choleric  and 
rash.  Some  things,  too,  in  good  sooth  there  are,  that 
might  be  well  amended.  This  ship-money  I  like  not  alto 
gether,  nor  these  violent  forced  subsidies  ;  yet  less  like  I 
the  sordid  Puritanic  knaves,  who  do  oppose  them,  not 
that  they  know  or  understand  the  evil  of  the  measures 
which  they  rail  at,  but  that  they  would  embarrass  and  an 
noy,  and,  if  their  means  were  mated  to  their  will,  would 
doubtless  strive  to  overthrow  the  government  from  which 
these  measures  emanate ;  not  that  they  love  their  coun 
try,  but  that  they  hate  their  king.  Because,  being  base 
themselves,  they  loathe  the  very  name  of  what  is  high,  or 
generous  or  noble — because,  having  naught  to  lose  even 
in  England's  ruin,  they  may  gain  all  in  the  midst  of  uproar 
and  confusion. 

"  But  enough  said ! — you  shall  receive  their  offer,  since  so 


78  OLIVER   CROMWELL. 

you  will  it,  although  I  hold  a  promise  of  a  borough  front 
iny  Lord  of  Middleton  awaiting  your  acceptance,  for 
which,  I  speak  it  in  all  candor,  I  would  far  rather  have 
you  member  than  for  this  beggarly  psalm-singing  body 
corporate  of  Huntingdon.  But  enough  said! — Bear  with 
me^  Edgar,  for  I  am  old,  and  choleric  withal,  and  hasty ! 
And  DOW  to  supper !  For  John,  cook,  will  be  foaming  if 
his  goose  pie  be  burnt,  or  his  beef  boiled  to  rags — as  with 
overflowing  eyes  he  swore  to  me  they  were  last  night,  and 
all  through  fault  of  mine !  " 


CHAPTER  VI. 

KINGCRAFT     AND     CONSTITUTION. 

The  power  of  armies  is  a  visible  thins. 
Formal  and  circumscribed  in  time  and  place; 
But  who  the  limits  of  that  power  shall  trace 
Which  a  brave  people  into  lisht  can  bring 
Or  hide  at  will, — for  Freedom  combating" 
By  just  revenge  Inflamed  ? 

WORDSWORTH. — Sonnets  to  Liberty. 

IT  is  a  fact,  which  cannot  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
observant  student  of  history,  past  and  present,  that,  while 
men  and  things,  the  very  greatest,  are  acting  or  acted  be 
fore  the  eyes  of  the  living  generation,  unless  they  be  of 
magnitude  so  stupendous,  and  of  significance  so  unmista 
kable,  as  to  compel  conviction,  they  pass  uncomprehended, 
if  not  entirely  unremarked,  by  the  multitude. 

Only,  after  one  age  has  given  place  to  its  successor,  is 
the  full  import  of  its  events  perceived  by  the  public,  the 
true  character  of  its  heroes  weighed  in  the  balance  and 
admitted  of  standard,  or  found  wanting. 

Still  more  constantly  is  this  the  case,  when  vast  events, 
such  as  impress  their  stamp  on  the  condition  and  charac 
ters  of  nations,  and  make  their  eras,  epochs,  are  not  actu 
ally  passing,  but  imminent  and  instantly  to  be  expected. 


KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION.  79 

The  disturbance  is  seen,  the  storm  is  foreseen  by  every 
one;  but  it  is  the  one  man  of  the  thousand,  only,  who 
perceives  that  the  tumult  of  the  elements  is  not,  and  that 
the  tempest  will  not  be,  such  as  those  which  were  yester 
day,  and  may  be  on  every  to-morrow,  to  pass  over  and 
leave  the  face  of  nature  constant  and  unaltered. 

The  exciters  of  great  popular  uprisings  and  first  movers 
of  great  national  mutations,  almost  as  often  as  their  vic 
tims,  are  startled  and  astounded  at  finding  what  they 
thought  reform,  resistance  to  oppression,  revolution. 

So  it  has  ever  been,  must  ever  be;  and,  if  it  be  true, 
that,  to  the  very  instruments  and  actors, 

"  Between  tho  acting  of  a  dreadful  thing 
And  the  first  motion,  all  the  interim  is 
Like  a  phantasms,  or  a  hideous  dream," 

it  is  certain  that,  to  the  masses  of  mankind,  such  in 
tervals  are  wholly  unappreciated,  if  not  unappreciable. 

While  riot  is  blazing  into  rebellion,  and  rebellion  grow 
ing  into  revolution,  nay!  while  civil  armies  are  set  in 
bloody  opposition,  and  the  vengeful  ax  is  lopping  heads 
in  the  market-place,  faster  than  the  sword  on  the  battle 
field,  men  will  pursue  their  wonted  avocations ;  inquire, 
like  the  Athenians,  when  Philip  rode  victorious  over  Chae- 
ronea,  "what  there  is  new"  on 'change;  seek  pleasure 
in  the  theatres ;  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry ;  marry  and  give 
in  marriage ;  as  did  the  dwellers  of  Pompeii,  while  Vesu 
vius  was  already  kindling  his  subterraneous  furnaces  for 
their  destruction. 

And  so  it  was  in  England,  in  the  autumn  of  1641  ;  the 
sister  kingdom  of  Ireland  was  in  the  very  agony  of  the 
most  hideous  of  all  wars,  a  religious,  civil  war ;  England 
herself  was  in  the  throes,  from  which  nothing  but  inter 
necine  strife  and  years  of  blood  could  issue ;  yet  the 
minds  of  men,  even  of  those  in  the  vortex  of  politics,  in 
tent  on  what  was  before  them,  saw  little — and  the  others, 
nothing, — of  what  a  few  short  months  should  bring  forth. 

The  golden  days  of  autumn  had  already  fled ;  the 
last  slow  wain  had  dragged  its  freight  to  the  piled  thresh 
ing-floor  ;  the  last  flower  had  shed  its  petals  scentless  and 
colorless  upon  the  frosted  grass.  The  leaves,  that  had  for 


80  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

many  weeks  clothed  grove  and  forest  in  a  rich  garb  of 
many-colored  splendor,  now  detached  themselves  one  by 
one  from  the  sere  branches,  and  fell  whirling  slowly  in  the 
heavy  atmosphere,  like  hopes  blighted  before  accomplish 
ment,  to  the  dank  steamy  earth;  the  glimpses  of  the  sun 
were  rarer  and  more  pallid  than  their  wont,  and  often  in 
the  depth  of  night  the  mighty  winds  went  forth,  wailing 
as  if  in  sorrow  over  the  faded  glories  of  the  year. 

Nor  were  the  signs  of  the  times  less  gloomy  than  the 
tokens  of  the  season.  All  England  was  in  confusion  and 
dismay,  and  both  these  hourly  increasing,  till  the  one  half 
of  the  people  was  well  nigh  maddened  by  its  fears,  the 
other  by  the  excitement  of  its  own  fierce  and  stormy  pas 
sions.  To-day  a  rumor  was  abroad  of  mighty  armaments 
levied  beyond  the  sea ;  and  even  now  preparing  to  pollute 
with  foreign  weapons  the  free  soil  of  England,  and  to 
erect  the  power  of  her  monarch,  already  stretched  beyond 
all  limits  of  constitutional  sway,  into  absolute  and  self- 
controlling  tyranny.  On  the  next,  a  tale  was  rife  that 
Pym,  the  champion  of  the  people's  cause  and  king  of 
their  affections,  had  been  assailed,  perhaps  even  murdered, 
by  the  hired  emissaries  of  a  sovereign  stern  and  cold  by 
nature,  and  rendered  merciless  and  cruel  by  the  extrem 
ity  of  terror. 

Then  came  the  one  great  accusation,  swallowing  up  in 
its  atrocity  all  lesser  charges,  all  inferior  crimes,  as  the 
sunshine  drinks  up  and  blots  from  heaven  the  fainter  lustre 
of  the  stars ;  the  one  great  accusation,  at  that  time  gener 
ally  credited  by  men  of  every  class  except  perhaps  a  few 
of  the  most  confiding  and  most  generous  cavaliers — and 
since  those  days  confirmed  almost  beyond  the  possibility 
of  doubt — that  the  Irish  rebellion,  with  all  its  horrible 
features  of  midnight  massacre  and  mid-day  conflagration, 
was  the  premeditated,  coolly  calculated  work  of  Charles 
and  Henrietta.  The  one  great  accusation,  which  penetra 
ting  every  breast,  in  every  rank  of  persons,  with  mingled 
sentiments  of  pity,  horror,  hatred,  and  disgust,  imbittered 
still  more  against  him  the  foes  of  the  misguided  sover 
eign,  and  alienated  from  his  side  many  of  those  devoted 
and  enthusiastic  spirits,  who  never  would  have  swerved 
from  their  allegiance,  so  long  as  they  had  sense  or  being, 


KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTOR.  81 

had  he  but  shown  himself  in  the  most  trivial  circumstan 
ces  constant,  not  to  his  faithful  servants,  but  to  his  own 
true  interests,  or  even  to  himself. 

In  the  commons  house  the  minds  of  men  were  even 
more  unsettled  than  in  the  world  at  large.  Parties  ran 
daily  higher,  and  with  a  greater  share  of  virulence  and 
private  animosity  than  at  any  previous  period ;  and,  in 
deed,  it  seemed  that  the  king  himself  was  laboring  as 
earnestly  to  the  advantage  of  his  enemies,  the  Puritans, 
as  they  themselves  could  wish.  At  the  first  meeting  of 
the  parliament,  a  committee  had  been  appointed  "  to 
draw  up  a  general  remonstrance  of  the  state  of  the  king 
dom,  and  the  particular  grievances  it  had  sustained." 
This  committee,  after  its  first  nomination,  had,  how 
ever,  scarcely  ever  met,  and  was  almost  forgotten.  Now, 
however,  during  the  causeless  and  protracted  absence  of 
the  ill-fated  monarch  in  the  sister  kingdom  of  Scotland, 
irritated  by  his  apathy  with  regard  to  bleeding  Ireland, 
appreciating  fully  his  dishonest  motives  in  lingering  at  a 
distance  from  his  parliament,  and  goaded  almost  to  mad 
ness  by  his  attempt  to  seize  or  to  assassinate,  as  many  did 
in  truth  believe,  Argyle  and  Hamilton,  the  party  came  to 
the  resolve  of  reproducing  that  momentous  question. 
In  accordance  with  their  views,  upon  Strode's  motion,  it 
was  carried,  that  "  the  committee  of  remonstrance  be  re 
vived,  and  ordered  without  more  delay  to  meet ; "  and 
time  and  place  incontinently  were  appointed. 

Within  a  few  days  of  this  measure,  a  bill  of  far  more 
questionable  character,  not  to  be  justified,  and  palliated 
only — if  it  might  any  way  be  palliated — by  the  unwonted 
and  most  unbecoming  violence  of  the  spiritual  lords,  who 
lent  themselves  in  every  instance  willing  instruments  to 
aid  the  usurpation  of  the  sovereign,  and  scrupled  not  to 
violate  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  laws  against  the 
Romish  church,  was  introduced,  ordered  by  a  majority 
of  voices  to  be  read,  and,  without  any  opposition  worthy 
of  remark,  transmitted  to  the  lords,  for  disabling  the 
bishops  from  the  exercise  of  voting  in  the  upper  house, 
or  of  any  temporal  office  throughout  the  kingdom. 

Just  at  this  critical  and  anxious  juncture,  with  his  ac 
customed  rashness  and  inveterate  obstinacy,  Charles 
D*  6 


82  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

deemed  it  fitting  to  collate  five  preachers  of  undoubted 
eminence  and  learning,  but  better  known  for  principles 
of  state  the  most  obnoxious  than  even  for  their  talents, 
to  as  many  sees  vacant  by  death  or  by  translation,  in  ab 
solute  defiance,  as  it  seemed,  of  the  desires  of  the  popular 
branch  of  legislation,  and  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his 
most  trustworthy  and  valuable  counsellors.  In  the  midst 
of  the  tumults  —  for  to  an  extent,  which  scarcely  can  be 
designated  by  a  less  forcible  word,  was  the  violent  strug 
gle  carried  between  the  upper  and  the  lower  houses  — 
consequent  upon  this  doubtful  measure,  tidings  arrived 
in  London,  that  on  a  day  appointed,  having  arranged  all 
matters  in  that  kingdom  to  the  general  satisfaction,  his 
majesty  intended  to  depart  from  Scotland  on  his  home 
ward  progress;  and  straightway  the  committee  offered 
the  report  of  their  proceedings,  together  with  a  draught 
of  the  remonstrance,  to  the  house.  The  commons  in 
stantly,  although  divided  much  in  sentiment,  and,  as 
many  thought,  in  general  opposed  to  this  decisive  stroke, 
proceed  to  discuss  it  with  a  degree  of  bitterness  and  fury 
perhaps  unprecedented  except  in  the  debates  upon  the 
case  of  Straftbrd. 

In  the  meanwhile  an  answer  had  been  returned  to  Ar- 
den  by  his  constituents  of  Huntingdon,  agreeing  fully  to 
the  terms  he  had  proposed  whereon  to  serve  them  in  the 
commons  as  their  representative  and  member;  and  urg 
ing  him,  so  soon  as  it  might  be  consistent  with  his  leisure, 
to  betake  himself  to  London,  there  to  assume  his  seat. 
All  preparations  had  been  made  for  his  departure ;  cham 
bers  were  secured  for  him  in  Westminster ;  his  retinue 
and  horses  had  been  sent  before  him ;  nay,  even  a  day 
was  fixed  whereon  again  to  leave,  after  so  brief  enjoy 
ment  of  its  serene  and  tranquil  pleasures,  his  paternal 
home.  He  felt  not,  it  is  true,  that  terrible  sensation  of 
passionate  and  overwhelming  sorrow  which  drowns  the 
hearts  of  the  young  at  their  first  setting  forth  into  the 
wide  and  cheerless  world,  from  the  dear  roof  that  saw 
their  birth  ;  much  less  that  sullen  and  collected  bitterness 
with  which  the  exile  gazes,  ere  he  turn  from  them  for 
ever,  upon  the  scenes  never  before  so  beautiful  or  so  be 
loved.  But  he  did  feel  a  heavy  arid  continual  gloom 


KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION.  83 

clouding,  he  scarce  knew  wherefore,  all  his  anticipations 
of  the  future  —  an  ominous  and  all-engrossing  sense  of 
coming  evil — a  prophetic  fear,  that  it  would  never  be  his 
again  to  cast  away  the  burden  of  his  sorrows,  and  be,  as 
it  were,  once  again  a  child  in  spirit,  beside  that  old  do 
mestic  hearth — a  fear  not  justified,  perhaps,  by  any  clear 
perception,  nor  founded  on  any  evidence  of  judgment ; 
but  still  oppressing  his  mind,  no  less  than  the  influence 
of  a  coming  thunder-storm  is  often  seen  to  agitate  the 
lower  grades  of  animal  creation,  when  not  a  speck  of  cloud 
is  visible  as  yet  above  the  clear  horizon. 

So  far  indeed  as  regarded  any  real  or  well  founded  ap 
prehensions,  Arden  had  every  following  day  less  cause  to 
dread  a  rupture  with  his  father  in  consequence  of  any 
difference  in  politics ;  for  so  completely  had  the  old  man 
taken  up  the  notion  that  his  son  intended  to  apply  his 
nomination  by  the  Puritanic  party  to  the  advancement  of 
the  royal  interests,  that  Edgar  fruitlessly  endeavored  to 
apprise  him  of  the  error,  and  to  convince  him  of  his  own 
sincerity  and  singleness  of  purpose. 

"  Right  1  right !  boy,"  he  Avould  cry ;  "  never  betray 
your  counsel! — and  in  good  sooth  you  have  a  perilous  part 
to  play,  and  a  politic  —  best  vote  a  few  times  with  the 
canting  knaves — so  better  to  throw  dust  i'  their  eyes,  that 
they  discover  not  your  game  ere  it  be  fit  time  to  disclose 
it,  husbanding  so  your  powers  as  to  aid  our  gracious  mas 
ter  in  his  real  straits,  an'  it  should  come  —  which  God 
avert — to  such  an  issue !  " 

For  a  time,  indeed  —  so  utterly  abhorrent  was  the 
smallest  shadow  of  deception  to  his  ingenuous  mind  and 
rigid  sense  of  honor — he  strenuously  and  sincerely  strove 
to  make  Sir  Henry  comprehend  his  principles  ;  his  entire 
devotion  to  the  laws  and  constitution  of  his  country,  as 
established  by  the  precedent  of  ages,  not  as  interpreted 
by  the  corrupt  and  pensioned  lawyers  of  the  court ;  his 
firm  attachment  to  the  privilege  of  parliament,  as  opposed 
to  the  prerogative  of  the  crown ;  and,  above  all,  his  ab 
solute  disgust  at  the  late  proceedings  taken  by  the  king 
in  relation  to  the  claim  of  ship-money  especially,  and  to 
the  infringement  of  the  anti-Catholic  statutes.  But  find 
ing  all  endeavors  vain  to  overturn  his  preconceived  opin- 


84  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ion,  he  abandoned  altogether  the  ungracious  task,  in  an 
uncertain  state  of  mind,  bordering  at  one  moment  on 
hope,  at  another  on  its  opposite  extreme,  despair.  Now, 
he  would  argue  with  himself,  when  brighter  thoughts 
prevailed,  that,  as  his  father's  violence  of  loyalty  was  al 
ready  so  greatly  modified  as  to  permit  him  to  admit  the 
participation  of  corrupt  men,  and  the  existence  of  evil 
measures,  in  the  councils  of  his  kingly  idol,  his  own 
course  might  so  far  tally  with  his  views,  or,  at  the  worst, 
might  differ  from  them  only  in  so  small  particulars,  as  to 
call  forth  no  very  strenuous  or  lasting  reprobation. 
Again,  when  giving  way  to  gloomier  though  perhaps 
more  probable  imaginations,  he  could,  almost,  foresee 
that  the  obstinate  determination  of  the  sovereign  to 
dispense  with  parliaments,  to  recognize  the  laws  of 
the  land  but  so  tar  as  they  should  further  his  own  impe 
rious  wishes,  to  rule,  in  short,  as  an  absolute  and  arbi 
trary  monarch,  and  the  noble  stand  assumed  by  the  dele 
gates  of  the  people  in  defense  of  the  people's  rights, 
would  by  no  means  ever  be  composed  or  reconciled  ex 
cept  by  arbitration  of  the  sword.  Nor  could  he  so  far 
deceive  himself,  as  to  doubt,  that  in  such  a  case,  as  cer 
tainly  as  he  should  be  himself  found  warring  in  the  ranks 
of  freedom,  so  sure  would  Sir  Henry  arm  to  buckler  the 
time-hallowed  names  of  church  and  king,  although  the 
former  should  be  almost  Romish,  and  the  latter  wholly 
despotic.  Thus  was  the  mind  of  Edgar  balanced  during 
the  interval  which  elapsed  between  his  first  acceptance 
of  the  proffered  honor  and  his  departure  for  the  metrop 
olis.  Its  moods  were  as  various  as  the  changes  of  an 
April  day,  now  bright  with  sunshiny  and  azure  skies,  now 
blackened  with  the  scudding  wrack,  and  howling  with  the 
stormy  gusts. 

The  days,  however,  wore  onward.  The  chase  in  the 
morning,  with  its  heart-stirring  sounds  and  high  associa 
tions,  or  the  stroll  through  the  highly-cultivated  grounds 
about  the  homestead,  or  the  familiar  visit  to  the  inde 
pendent  yeoman  or  the  sturdy  peasantry,  consumed  the 
earlier  hours ;  and,  when  the  mid-day  meal  was  ended, 
the  ramble  in  the  beautiful  broad  park,  beneath  the  au 
tumnal  trees,  with  his  sweet  cousin,  beguiled  the  hours 


KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION.  85 

till  twilight,  when  the  lamps  would  all  be  lighted,  and 
the  guests  assembled  in  the  lordly  hall,  or  the  smaller  cir 
cle  gathered  about  the  parlor  fire,  to  cheat  the  evening 
with  lay  and  legend,  or  with  sprightly  converse,  more 
pleasantly  than  with  loud  minstrelsy  and  the  gay  dance. 

The  days,  however,  wore  onward  ;  and  although  none 
else  perceived  the  constant  cloud  that  dwelt  on  Edgar's 
brow,  Sibyl  marked  and  understood  it;  and,  as  if  in  sym 
pathy,  her  own  transparent  skin  showed  less  and  less  the 
healthful  hues  of  her  elastic  blood,  and  her  deep  eye  was 
always  dimmer  than  its  wont,  and  often  tearful,  as  it 
would  dwell  unnoticed  on  the  overshadowed  features  of 
her  lover,  now  constantly  absorbed,  as  he  had  rarely  been 
of  yore,  in  fits  of  meditation,  abstracting  him  almost  en 
tirely  from  the  business  or  the  pleasure  of  the  moment. 
After  the  morning  following  his  return  to  Woodleigh,  al 
though  on  other  topics  there  had  been  no  reserve,  how 
ever  trivial,  no  hesitancy  or  concealment  of  action, 
thought,  or  motive,  neither  had  again  alluded  to  the  sub 
ject  of  their  interrupted  conversation  —  he  shunning  it, 
not  merely  because  he  could  have  nothing  agreeable,  but 
because  he  had  nothing  definite  which  to  communicate, 
and  therefore  was  unwilling,  needlessly  perhaps,  to  cloud 
her  prospects  with  certainly  a  distant,  and  not  improba 
bly  a  causeless  terror,  and  she  not  pressing  it,  because, 
relying  with  a  pure  and  holy  confidence  upon  her  prom 
ised  husband,  and  seeing,  that,  be  his  secret  sorrow  what 
it  might,  he  felt  it  not  his  duty  at  that  time  to  impart  it 
to  her  ear,  she  would  have  scorned  herself  could  she  have 
entertained  the  thought  but  for  a  moment  of  obtaining 
that  from  his  fondness,  which  his  judgment  would  not 
warrant  his  bestowing. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  Sibyl  had  another  and 
a  surer  reason  for  her  silence ;  for,  with  that  wondrous 
shrewdness  which  a  woman's  heart  possesses  in  divining 
and  discovering  anything  that  may  affect  it  in  its  own 
particular  province,  she  felt  herself  ere  long  to  be  the 
mistress  of  the  causes  of  his  hidden  grief.  She  saw  the 
struggle  in  his  heart  between  his  love  for  her  and  for  his 
father,  and  his  devotion  to  his  country.  She  knew  that 
in  the  heart  of  such  a  man  the  struggle  could  last  but 


86  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

for  a  little  while  ere  it  must  be  decided;  she  suffered  no 
diminution  of  her  self-respect,  no  fretting  of  her  vanity, 
as  she  acknowledged  that  her  own  claims  to  his  affection 
must  surely  yield  to  the  overruling  amor  patrice  ;  and, 
while  she  sorrowed  with  the  deep  sincerity  of  a  true  and 
loving  heart  over  the  election  which,  she  was  assured,  he 
had  already  made,  she  yet  thought  she  hardly  could  de 
sire  that  he  had  decided  otherwise.  Even  yet  there  was 
another  cause — a  lingering  hope,  that  she  might  yet  have 
been  in  error,  that  she  might  falsely  have  interpreted  the 
outward  workings  of  his  mind  —  a  fear  of  banishing  that 
lingering  hope,  by  questioning  him,  concerning  that 
which  she  most  yearned  to  know — a  fear  of  learning  that, 
which  even  now  almost  knowing  true,  she  would  have 
given  worlds  to  know  unreal. 

The  days  wore  onward,  and  the  last  morning  broke, 
and  the  last  sun  arose,  which  was  to  shine  on  Edgar  a 
dweller  in  his  father's  house.  It  was  a  clear,  bright, 
cheerful  morning.  A  slight  touch  of  frost  on  the  pre 
ceding  evening  had  imparted  just  enough  of  coldness  to 
the  atmosphere  to  render  it  more  pure  and  bracing,  but 
the  sun  shone  warmly  out,  and  the  dew  sparkled  laugh 
ingly  upon  the  shrubs  and  grass,  and  the  rooks  clove  the 
liquid  firmament  with  their  exulting  wings  at  an  immeas 
urable  pitch.  All  nature  seemed  to  rejoice  with  a  more 
healthful  and  elastic  joy  than  in  the  fullest  flush  of  sum 
mer.  It  was,  in  short,  just  such  a  morning  as  would 
make  the  careless  and  unburdened  heart  sit  lighter  on  its 
throne,  as  would  impel  the  mounted  traveller  to  give  his 
horse  the  spur,  and  let  his  spirits  loose  by  a  free  and  fear 
less  gallop  —  as  would  swell  the  pedestrian's  chest,  and 
plant  his  stride  more  firmly  on  the  sod,  and  perchance  un 
close  his  lips  with  something  of  a  song.  But  it  was  such 
a  one  withal  as  would  cause  any  one  departing  from  some 
loved  and  lovely  scene,  to  feel  the  necessity  of  a  stronger 
effort  to  tear  himself  away  than  he  would  have  been 
called  on  to  exert  had  the  skies  been  lowering,  and  the 
day  in  nearer  unison  with  his  own  sad  sensations.  Ac 
cordingly,  the  tone  of  Edgar's  feelings  was  depressed  be 
yond  its  wont,  even  as  the  aspect  of  all  visible  things  was 
fairer  than  the  promise  of  the  season ;  his  face  was  care- 


KINGCRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION.  87 

worn,  and  at  times  it  scarcely  woiild  have  been  too  strong 
a  term  to  call  it  haggard ;  his  gait  was  various  and  irreg 
ular,  hasty  at  times  and  hurried,  and  at  times  unusually 
slow ;  his  eye  was  often  fixed  on  vacancy,  and  those  who 
addressed  him  were  compelled  often  to  speak  their  wishes 
more  than  once  ere  they  appeared  to  reach  his  under 
standing. 

The  earlier  hours^  were  consumed  in  preparations  till 
high  noon  came  round,  and  he  sat  down  to  the  last  meal 
he  was  for  many  a  month  to  taste  in  fellowship  with  those 
who  sat  beside  him,  while  the  unwelcome  thought  would 
still  intrude  itself,  that  it  might  be  verily  the  last.  In  si 
lence  then,  if  not  in  sorrow,  dinner  went  by,  until  the 
board  was  cleared  of  all  save  cup  and  flagon,  and  the  old 
servitors  withdrew,  and  Sibyl  left  the  table,  —  to  attend, 
perchance,  to  her  household  duties,  or,  more  probably,  to 
give  m  private  vent  to  the  gushing  feelings  which  in  pub 
lic  she  was  compelled  to  smother — -and  sire  and  son  were 
left  without  companions.  For  a  while  the  old  man  spoke 
not,  resting  his  head  upon  his  hand  as  if  in  anxious 
thought ;  and,  although  once  or  twice  he  raised  it  and 
made  as  if  about  to  speak,  he  yet  seemed  at  a  loss  for 
words.  At  length,  as  if  with  something  of  an  effort,  he 
aroused  himself,  filled  up  his  goblet  from  the  stoop  of 
Bordeau  wine  before  him,  and,  pushing  it  toward  his  son, 
motioned  that  he  should  follow  the  example,  gazed  for  a 
moment  wistfully  upon  the  clouded  features  that  met  his 
eye,  and  with  a  nod  and  smile  that  vainly  struggled  to  be 
lightsome,  emptied  his  winecup. 

"  Come,  Edgar,  come !  "  he  said,  "  this  gloom  will 
never  do !  Cheer  up,  my  boy,  cheer  up !  You  now  take 
on  more  sadly  methinks  than  when  you  left  us  for  your 
three  years  term  of  service  in  the  Low  Countries ;  but  I 
can  see  how  sits  the  wind;  old  though  I  be,  and  past 
these  toys  this  many  a  winter's  day.  I  mind  when  I 
was  a  young  cavalier,  and  not  —  although  I  say  it  who 
should  not — the  most  unlikely  in  the  court  of  good  Queen 
Bess,  we  ne'er  shall  look  upon  her  like  again  —  I  mind 
how  I  was  wont  to  droop  at  parting  from  your  mother, 
my  sweet  Alice  —  Sibyl,  though  passing  fair,  is  nothing 
for  beauty  to  what  she  was — well — too  well!  do  I  mind  it." 


88  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Arden,  who  had  shaken  off  his  air  of  abstraction  for  a 
moment  as  his  father  drank  to  him,  was  again  relapsing 
into  the  same  listless  mood  on  perceiving  that  his  words 
were  rather  unconnected  musings  than  such  as  called  for 
answer  or  remark ;  but  when  the  name  of  Sibyl  caught 
his  ear,  his  eye  lightened,  and  the  color  rushed  to  his 
brow,  as  he  perceived  that  his  inmost  thoughts  were 
about  to  be  subjected  to  the  keen  probe  of  mental 
surgery. 

"  Ay !  ay !  I  can  see  plain  enough  how  sits  the  wind," 
continued  Sir  Henry,  without  pausing  for  a  reply  ; 
"  though  why  you  should  be  so  much  cast  down,  I  may 
not  comprehend  so  readily.  Your  cousin  Sibyl,  I  do 
know  right  well,  has  long  possessed  your  love,  and  as 
long,  too,  returned  it.  That  I  have  in  all  things  approved 
of  this,  I  need  not  tell  you  now,  seeing  that  you  must 
well  conceive,  that  knowing  this  and  not  prohibiting  was 
to  all  needful  ends  consenting.  That  you  should  be  cast 
down  at  leaving  so  sweet  a  girl  as  Sibyl,  is  —  I  gainsay  it 
not  —  right  natural;  nathless  I  cannot  but  imagine  that 
you  apprehend  some  greater  evil  than  a  mere  temporary 
separation.  Now,  boy,  to  the  point.  You  would  es 
pouse  your  cousin  Sibyl ;  she  says  not  nay ;  and  if  my  in 
terference  be  a  cause  of  dread  to  you,  I  say  but  this,  that 
you  have  cruelly  misjudged  your  father's  heart.  My 
blessing  on  you  both.  I  know  no  sweeter  balm  for  all  the 


manifold  griefs  of  age,  than  to  make,  and  to  see,  the  youth 
ful  happy.  So  set  your  soul  at  ease,  my  own  brave  boy, 
you  shall  wed  Sibyl  when  you  will ;  and  the  more  quick 
ly,  the  more  gladly,  and  more  surely  shall  I  witness  it. 
You  start  for  Westminster  to-night ;  and  I  have  thought 
often  now  of  late  on  passing  this  next  Christmas-tide  in 
London.  Sibyl,  poor  child,  has  seen  nothing  of  court 
gayety  nor  of  the  world  as  yet,  and  this  is  but  a  lonesome 
place  in  winter,  the  more  so  now  that  half  the  gentles  of 
the  land  will,  as  it  seems  too  likely,  be  detained  till  spring 
in  the  city  by  these  protracted  sittings  of  the  Houses, 
which  men  speak  of.  I  have  determined  now  to  give 
you  a  commission.  Choose  me  a  fitting  mansion,  whether 
to  rent  or  purchase  I  care  not  a  maravedi ;  in  the  Strand, 
if  you  may,  if  not  in  Westminster  or  Charing.  See  it 


KIXG CRAFT  AND  CONSTITUTION.  89 

right  nobly  furnished,  and  write  me  when  't  is  done.  I 
will  bring  Sibyl  thither  straightway,  and,  sith  you  may 
not  spend  these  holidays  with  us,  why  we  will  keep  them 
up  with  you,  I  warrant  me.  And  now  away  to  Sibyl ;  say 
to  her  all  that  I  have  said  to  you,  and  what  beside  seems 
fitting  to  your  melancholy  mood.  You  need  not  me,  I 
trow,  to  woo  her.  Fix,  if  you  may  prevail  on  her,  your 
bridal  day  at  once,  whene'er  you  list  between  Christmas- 
tide  and  Easter.  Be  happy,  Edgar,  be  happy,  and  let  me 
see  you  so — such  is  my  only  wish  this  side  eternity, — be 
fore  I  go  to  my  long  home." 

"  My  good,  my  generous,  my  gracious  father !  "  cried 
Arden,  affected  to  the  point  of  weeping,  as  he  threw  him 
self  upon  the  old  man's  neck. 

"  Tush  !  tush,  boy ;  none  of  this !  "  exclaimed  the  vet 
eran,  hemming  away  the  husky  weakness  from  his  throat ; 
"none  of  this,  but  away  with  you  to  Sibyl ;  she  is  more  fit 
ting  object  for  these  raptures  than  an  old  weather-beaten 
trunk  like  me.  Away  with  you ;  but  hark  you,  here  is 
the  ring  that  plighted  my  departed  angel.  Let  me  be 
hold  it  on  Tier  hand,  whom  I  have  loved  the  best^-nay,  I 
might  say,  the  only  one  —  of  women,  since  my  own 
Alice  left  me,  to  drag  out  my  pilgrimage  alone,  with 
out  one  hope  to  cheer  me  save  that  of  meeting  her 
once  more,  when  it  shall  be,  O  Lord,  thy  merciful  and 
blessed  will." 


90  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE     SETTING     OF     A     MIGHTY     HOPE. 

Ah !  then  and  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro, 
And  gathering  tears  and  tremblings  of  distress, 
And  cheeks  all  pale,  which  but  an  hour  ago 
Blushed  at  the  praise  of  their  own  loveliness  ; 
And  there  were  sudden  partings,  such  as  press 
The  lite  out  of  young  hearts,  and  choking  sighs 
"Which  ne'er  might  be  repeated — 

BYRON.— CMlde  Harold. 

IT  would  have  been  of  no  avail,  so  bent  was  the  old 
knight  on  his  benevolent  design,  even  had  Edgar  been  so 
minded,  to  strive  to  alter  or  oppose  his  projects.  They 
were  riot  such,  however,  as  to  leave  a  possible  desire  to 
his  son,  which  would  not  be,  by  their  accomplishment,  at 
once  achieved.  He  had  no  words  to  answer,  but  the  hot 
blood  rushed  tumultuously  through  his  veins,  and  his 
strong  frame  quivered  visibly  with  the  excitement  of  his 
spirits,  as  he  hurried  from  the  hall  to  seek  his  beautiful 
betrothed.  "  Once  mine,  and  all  beside  is  nothing ! 
once  mine,  there  will  be  no  more  struggle !  Duty  and 
pleasure  will  go  hand  in  hand !  Once  wedded,  and  no 
difference  of  opinion  then  may  put  those  asunder  whom 
God  has  joined  together!" 

Such  were  the  thoughts  that  thronged  with  irresistible 
impetuosity,  and  with  the  speed  of  light,  upon  his  busy 
brain ;  but  he  had  not  made  six  steps  beyond  the  thresh 
old  before  reflection  changed  the  prospect.  "Would  it 
be  noble,  honorable,  upright" — thus  did  he  commune 
with  himself;  "  would  it  be  worthy  of  an  Arden,  the  sup 
porter  of  an  unblotted  fame  of  generations,  nay,  rather, 
would  it  not  be  sordid,  base,  dishonest,  and  degrading  to 
the  lowliest  gentleman,  to  win  a  credulous,  confiding 
woman  by  a  fraud,  by  an  implied,  if  not  a  spoken  lie  ? 
To  let  her  wed,  believing  him  she  wedded  a  supporter  of 
the  cause  she  deemed  most  holy,  a  soldier  armed  for  the 
warfare  which  alone  to  her  seemed  just  and  sacred,  to  let 
her  wed  in  haste,  and  then  find  out  at  leisure  that  she 
had  been  deceived  by  him  she  had  just  sworn  to  honor  f 


THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE.  91 

"Not  so  !  "  he  cried  aloud,  in  passionate  self-soliloquy. 
"  It  shall  not  be,  by  heaven !  She  shall  know  all,  all, 
everything !  Knowing,  she  shall  accept  my  hand,  or 
knowing,  cast  me  off,  but  not,  at  least,  despise  me ! " 
And,  as  his  mind  arrived  at  its  mature  though  swift  con 
clusion,  he  reached  the  door  of  Sibyl's  oriel  parlor ;  with 
a  hesitating  hand  he  struck  the  panel,  and  so  slight  was 
the  sound  that  it  conveyed  no  tidings  to  the  inmate,  at 
least  it  was  unanswered.  Again  he  knocked,  and  louder 
than  before  ;  he  listened,  and  still  all  was  silence.  Sup 
posing  her  he  sought  to  have  gone  forth,  he  had  already 
turned  away  to  follow  her,  when  a  faint  noise,  as  of  a  per 
son  breathing  heavily,  or  perhaps  gently  weeping,  at 
tracted  his  attention ;  he  knocked  a  third  time,  and  hen, 
though  still  unbidden,  entered.  She  was  within,  she  was 
alone!  in  the  prostration,  in  the  absolute  abandonment 
of  feminine  and  hopeless  grief! 

Her  face  was  buried  in  Jier  hands,  as  she  lay  stretched 
at  length  on  the  broad  pillowed  settle  which  encircled  the 
bay  window.  Her  light  brown  hair,  which  had  broken 
loose  from  the  confinement  of  her  silken  headgear,  flowed 
in  redundant  waves  over  the  voluptuous  outline  of  her 
shoulders,  trailing  down  even  to  the  ground.  Her  fea 
tures  were,  of  course,  concealed;  but  the  large  pearly 
tears,  forcing  their  way  one  by  one  between  her  fingers, 
had  already  left  a  visible  trace  of  moisture  on  the  damask 
cushions,  while  the  convulsive  starts  that  agitated  her  en 
tire  frame  told  even  more  the  depth  and  anguish  of  her 
sorrow  than  all  her  weeping. 

"  Sibyl,"  he  whispored,  stealing  with  noiseless  steps 
ov.er  the  three-piled  Persian  carpet  till  he  was  close  be 
side  her;  "my  own,  own  Sibyl!"  There  •  was  a  deep 
fond  pathos  in  his  musical  accents  which  no  description 
could  express  ;  a  liquid,  melancholy  tenderness,  that  sank 
directly  to  the  heart ;  "  My  own,  own  Sibyl."  And  with 
the  most  respectful  delicacy  he  lifted  her  from  her  re 
cumbent  attitude  ;  "  and  weeping  too  for  me  !  but  weep 
no  longer,  dearest  one,  I  come,  I  come.  Oh  grant  it, 
God,  that  it  may  be  so,  to  wipe  those  tears  away,  to  make 
you  mine  forever !  " 

She  gazed  upon  him  for  a  second's  space,  wildly,  dis- 


92  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

trustfully ;  then,  as  she  perceived  his  earnest  air,  and 
marked  the  hope  that  kindled  in  his  smile,  then  brighter 
thoughts  prevailed ;  and,  with  the  sudden,  strange  revul 
sion,  abandoning  herself  to  the  full  tide  of  her  warm,  pas 
sionate  feelings,  she  sank  half  fainting  on  the  bosom  of 
her  lover. 

"  Oh  grant  it,  Father  of  all  mercies,  grant  it,  that  this 
too  mighty  treasure  shall  indeed  be  mine  !  "  he  murmured 
fervently,  as  he  supported  her,  and  with  considerate  ex 
pressions  of  calm  fondness  recalled  her  gradually  to  her 
self-possession,  suppressing  every  sentiment  that  might 
embarrass  her  returning  consciousness,  that  might  in  any 
wise  offend  or  agitate  her  girlish  sensibilities ;  holding 
her  hand  in  his  the  while,  but  with  a  quiet,  unimpas- 
sioned  pressure,  liker  to  the  expression  of  a  kind  broth 
er's  love  than  to  the  rapturous  devotion  of  a  youthful 
suitor ;  soothing  her  with  the  gentlest  tones  of  his  famil 
iar  voice,  till  she  was  at  the  least  sufficiently  composed 
to  listen  to  his  self-restrained  and  self-accusing  pleadings. 

"  Sibyl,"  he  said  at  length,  as  her  deep-drawn  sighs  sub 
sided,  and  her  tears  ceased  to  flow  in  such  unnatural  pro 
fusion  ;  "  Sibyl,  dear  cousin  ;  soon,  soon,  I  trust,  to  be  ad 
dressed  by  a  far  dearer  title,  I  have  much,  much  that  I 
would  say  to  you  before  I  go  from  hejice,  never  unless  at 
your  permission  to  return !  much  from  my  father,  for  iny- 
sclf  yet  more !  Dry  your  tears,  dearest,  dry  them,  I  be 
seech  you  ;  it  is  agony  to  me  to  look  on  them  !  dry  them, 
and  listen  to  me,  that  we  may,  if  it  be  Heaven's  pleasure, 
be  happy  as  the  happiest  of  earth's  inhabitants." 

"  Say  on,"  she  difficultly  faltered  forth  the  words, 
"  say  on,  dear  Edgar ;  with  my  whole  soul  I  do  attend 
you." 

"  Not  here,"  he  answered,  "  not  here,  sweet  one  and 
not  yet !  But  do  your  mantle  on,  and  walk  forth  with  me 
for  a  little  space.  You  are  too  greatly  agitated  yet, 
calmly  to  hear,  and  freely  to  decide  on  that,  which  for 
your  own  happiness,  and  for  my  life's  sake,  you  must  con 
sider  warily  and  well !  The  pleasant  sunshine,  the  fresh 
grateful  air,  and,  above  all,  the  peaceful  and  quiescent 
scenery,  will  tranquillize  your  mind.  Moreover,  I  would 
not  that  this  sun  should  set  unwitnessed  by  us  twain  to- 


THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE.  93 

gether.  You  will  go  forth,  then,  dearest ;  will  you  not, 
Sibyl  ?  » 

A  smile,  exquisitely  sweet,  glancing  from  out  her  tears, 
was  her  sole  token  of  assent,  as  she  disengaged  herself 
half  blushingly  from  his  supporting  arms,  and,  gathering 
her  dishevelled  tresses,  folded  them  simply,  but  in  the 
most  perfect  taste,  around  her  classically  moulded  temples. 

"  Wait  for  me  in  the  vestibule,"  she  said ;  "  I  will  be 
there  ere  you  shall  have  the  time  to  miss  me ;  "  and  van 
ished  from  the  room,  leaving  a  stronger  hope  in  Arden's 
breast  than  he  had  entertained  for  many  a  day.  He  was 
assured  in  his  own  mind,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt, 
that  she  had  marked  the  secret  conflict  of  his  soul,  that 
she  had  penetrated  his  sole  mystery,  and  was  aware  al 
ready  of  his  apprehensions,  as  to  the  part  which  it  might 
ere  long  be  his  duty  to  sustain,  whether  it  should  lie  in  the 
grave  and  subtle  forum,  or  in  the  lamentable  field  of  civil 
strife  ;  and  he  now  listened  to  the  flattering  voice  within, 
which  whispered  that  it  might  well  be,  a  maiden  so  affec 
tionate,  so  warm,  and,  above  all,  so  deeply  and  devotedly 
attached,  would  overlook  the  difference  in  their  political 
creeds,  as  counterbalanced,  rendered  nugatory,  and  a 
thing  of  no  account,  by  their  entire  harmony  of  soul  on 
every  other  subject. 

It  might  well  be,  that  one  so  strong  hers'elf  in  princi 
ples  of  honor  and  integrity,  would  find  more  to  admire  in 
the  inflexible  and  stern  uprightness  which  will  not  sacri 
fice  one  particle  of  conscience,  one  straw's  weight  of  that 
which  it  considers  duty,  before  the  shrine  of  its  most  inti 
mate  and  near  affections,  than  to  rebuke  or  reprobate  in 
the  opinions  or  the  principles  on  which  that  duty  hinges. 

But  he  had  not  long  time  to  waste  in  thought  or  specu 
lation  ;  for,  as  he  reached  the  entrance  of  the  hall,  the 
form  he  loved  so  well  to  look  upon  came  gliding  down  the 
stair-case,  wrapped  in  her  walking-robe  of  dark  velvet, 
furred  at  the  cape  and  cuffs  with  the  most  costly  minever ; 
and  wearing  on  her  head  a  cap  of  ermine,  its  silken  crown 
and  lining  protruding  from  above  the  border  of  deep  fur, 
and  hanging  gracefully  down,  with  a  white  ostrich-feather 
drooping  over  it,  so  as  to  flush  one  delicate  cheek  more 
warmly  than  its  sister  with  a  teint  borrowed  from  its  own 


94  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

bright  crimson.  With  a  passionate  and  fitful  light,  far 
different  from  the  calmness  of  their  wonted  radiance,  the 
eyes  of  Edgar  dwelt  upon  the  finely-modelled  person,  and 
the  features,  not  the  less  exquisitely  fair  that  they  now 
wore  a  melancholy,  downcast  aspect,  of  her,  on  whose  ac 
ceptance  or  denial  of  his  present  suit  his  all  of  hope  was 
fearfully  suspended. 

So  long,  indeed,  and  evident  was  that  fixed  gaze  of  ad 
miration,  and  so  much  was  she  moved  by  its  expression, 
that  the  bashful  blood  rushed  like  a  torrent  to  brow, 
cheek,  and  neck,  with  blushes  scarcely  natural,  so  vivid 
was  their  hectic  color.  Perceiving  instantly  the  cause  of 
her  confusion,  with  an  air  of  deep  humility  he  lowered 
his  offending  eyes,  and,  as  he  took  her  hand  to  lead  her 
forth,  "  Pardon,"  he  whispered,  in  low,  reverential  tones, 
"  pardon  me,  gentle  cousin,  my  most  unwitting  and  invol 
untary  fault !  -—  if  fault  it  be,"  he  added,  with  a  voice  that 
faltered,  and  then  abruptly  paused,  as  if  he  were  unable  to 
complete  the  sentence.  A  quiet  pressure  of  the  lingers 
that  yet  lingered  in  his  tender  grasp,  replied  at  once,  and 
reassured  him ;  and  in  the  silence  caused  by  feelings  or  by 
thoughts  too  powerful  for  utterance  —  how  widely  differ 
ent  from  that  of  apathy  or  dullness !  —  they  for  the  last  time 
wandeved  forth  into  the  pleasant  solitudes  of  the  bruad 
sylvan  chase. 

Throughout  the  greater  part  of  its  extent,  this  orna 
mented  tract,  although  diversified  enough  by  chaup-  of 
c!;i!e  and  upland  to  redeem  its  beauties  from  the  charge 
of  tameness  or  monotony,  was  rather  of  a  level  than  a 
broken  character ;  its  charms  were  chiefly  of  that  tranquil 
and  composing  cast  which  is  found  rather  in  expanses  of 
deep  meadow-land,  carpeted  by  a  sward  so  fresh  and  so 
luxuriant  as  to  lose  little  of  its  verdure  even  in  the  dead 
months  of  winter  —  in  the  massive  foliage  of  the  scattered 
clumps,  or  more  continuous  groves  of  stately  timber-trees 
—  and  in  the  sheets  of  limpid  but  unrippled  water,  than 
in  the  features  of  a  scenery,  which,  if  more  romantic,  is 
far  less  alluring,  if  more  enchanting  to  the  first  astonished 
glance,  bears  riot  so  well  the  test  of  daily  and  familiar  ob 
servation.  Toward  its  northern  and  northwestern  boun 
daries,  however,  the  ground  was  swelling  and  uneven. 


THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE.  95 

The  hills  heaved  up  more  boldly  from  the  valleys,  which 
were  in  places  so  abrupt  and  narrow  as  almost  to  deserve 
the  name  of  glens,  or  dingles,  and  often  wore  a  coronet 
of  gray  and  rifted  sandstone  above  the  purple  heather, 
that  clothed  their  flanks  with  a  dark  russet  mantle  where 
soever  the  soil  was  too  poor  or  too  shallow  to  support  the 
taller  growth  of  hazel,  birch,  and  mountain  ash,  which 
clustered  round  their  bases,  or  straggled  up  their  sides 
where  any  casual  streamlet  had  worn  a  channel  to  pro 
tect  them  from  the  western  gales,  and  aiforded  by  its 
waters  a  grateful  although  scanty  nutriment  to  their 
dwarfed  and  thirsty  roots, 

Imbosomed  in  these  rugged  eminences,  at  a  short  mile's 
distance  from  the  manor,  there  lay  a  little  tarn  or  moun 
tain  lake,  scarce  larger  than  an  artificial  pool,  but  so  deep 
that  its  glassy  waters  shone  black  as  polished  jet  even  be 
neath  the  azure  skies  of  June.  Narrow,  however,  as  it 
was,  it  yet  could  boast  its  islets,  tAvo,  fringed  from  the 
water's  edge  with  tangled  underwood,  above  which  waved 
some  three  or  four  tall  trees ;  the  third,  a  bold  and  bar 
ren  rock,  whereon  some  feudal  ancestor  had  perched  his 
solitary  fastness,  dismantled  now  and  roofless.  On  every 
side  but  one  the  hills  sank  steeply  down  to  the  lake's 
brink,  leaving  no  space  for  the  adventurous  foot  of  man, 
feathered  with  coppice  springing  from  every  rift  or  cre 
vice  of  their  rocky  sides ;  but  on  that  one  a  turfy  glade 
sloped  gently  to  the  marge,  where  it  was  bordered  by  a 
stripe  of  silver  sand,  which  formed  a  bright  and  sunny 
frame  to  the  dark  mirror  it  enclosed.  Just  where  the 
turf  and  sand  united,  a  single  and  gigantic  oak,  known  as 
the  "Friar's  tree"  for  miles  around,  reared  its  short  mas 
sive  trunk,  garnished  with  limbs  as  tortuous  and  forked 
as  the  antlers  of  the  wild  herds  that  loved  to  rub  their 
budding  horns  against  it  in  the  early  springtide  ;  but  sup 
porting,  even  in  the  flush  of  summer,  only  a  sparse  and 
scanty  garland  of  green  leaves,  which  rustled  now,  all  sere 
and  yellow,  in  the  melancholy  breath  of  autumn. 

Immediately  beneath  the  shadow  of  this  forest  patriarch, 
and  partly  overlapped  by  the  encroachment  of  its  twisted 
roots,  lay  a  huge  block  of  deep-red  freestone,  bearing  the 
marks  of  rude  and  hall-obliterated  sculptures,  in  which 


96  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

some  village  antiquarian  had  traced  or  fancied  a  resem 
blance  to  a  cowled  and  sandalled  figure,  whence  the  pre 
vailing  appellation  of  the  tree ;  which,  ancient  as  that  relic 
evidently  seemed,  had  probably  been  in  its  prime  already 
when  there  it  had  been  placed  —  placed  only  to  survive 
the  memory  of  the  event  or  actor  it  had  fondly  been  in 
tended  to  immortalize.  It  might  have  been  the  cover  of 
a  tomb,  it  might  have  been  a  monument  designed  to  cele 
brate  some  great  or  wonderful  achievement ;  but,  what 
ever  was  its  pristine  use  or  destination,  it  afforded  now  a 
pleasant  seat,  cushioned  with  soft  luxurious  mosses,  and 
sheltered  equally  from  summer  heat  and  wintry  gales  by 
the  huge  stem  and  gnarled  boughs  that  overhung  it.  A 
lovely  and  romantic  spot  this  was,  so  still,  so  lonely,  so  se 
questered  from  the  eye  by  intervening  thickets,  that,  al 
though  situate  at  scarce  a  bowshot  from  the  most  frequent 
ed  walks,  it  yet  was  rarely  visited  but  by  some  passing 
forester,  or  some  true  lover  of  the  un decorated  face  of 
nature.  For  this  cause,  perhaps,  it  had  ever  been  a  favor 
ite  haunt  of  Sibyl,  who,  when  a  fairy  maiden  of  fifteen, 
was  wont  to  resort  thither  with  book,  lute,  or  pencil,  as 
the  fancy  of  the  moment  prompted,  and  for  no  other  rea 
son  had  it  been  the  usual  termination  of  her  young  lover's 
wanderings. 

What  was  the  aim  of  Edgar  in  choosing  this  fair  soli 
tude  to  be  the  scene  of  that  most  sacred  audience  which 
he  had  come  forth  to  demand,  he  could  not  have,  perhaps, 
himself  explained.  It  might  be  he  had  formed  some  hall- 
confessed  and  indistinct  idea,  that  here,  in  the  familiar 
try  sting-place,  the  home  of  such  sweet  recollections,  the 
shrine  of  so  many  hopes,  she  would  "lean  to  the  soft  side 
of  the  heart,"  would  be  more  liable  to  yield  herself  to  fond 
and  passionate  impressions,  than  to  weigh  matters  with 
an  equable,  calm  scrutiny.  It  might  be  that  habit  merely, 
and  the  trick  of  old  association,  had  conducted  his  feet 
thither,  while  his  mind  was  far  removed  from  thought  of 
time  or  place.  It  might  be  that,  wise  and  philosophic  as 
his  spirit  was,  there  yet  lay  dubiously  concealed  within  it 
one  of  those  strange  superstitious  touches,  those  creeds  of 
the  heart,  not  of  the  judgment,  from  which  the  bosoms  of 
so  few,  even  the  coolest  and  most  stern  inquirers,  can  al- 


THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE,    -  97 

together  wean  themselves,  one  of  those  fancies  which  we 
at  all  times  have  felt,  that  some  peculiar  spot,  or  hour,  or 
person,  is  secretly  connected  with  the  clew  and  crisis  of 
our  destiny  —  is,  as  it  were,  the  hinge  whereon  the  portals 
of  our  fortune  turn,  opening  to  our  steps  the  unknown 
paths  of  future  good  or  evil. 

Whatever  were  his  thoughts,  however,  during  their  si 
lent  progress  to  the  friar's  tree,  scarcely  had  he  placed 
her  on  the  monumental  stone,  and  stretched  himself  be 
fore  her  on  the  dry  white  sand,  ere  he  poured  forth,  in  a 
voice  of  harmony  so  sweet  as  might  have  well  beguiled 
the  ear  and  won  the  heart  of  the  most  determined  votaress 
of  celibacy,  a  tide  of  language  fraught  with  such  elo 
quence,  and  yet  so  practical  in  meaning,  so  deep  in  senti 
ment,  and  yet  so  pointed  in  expression,  that  few  lips,  per 
haps,  but  his,  could  have  delivered  it,  without  incurring 
some  reproach  of  studied  insincerity,  or  awakening  some 
feeling  of  distrust.  He  told  her  of  his  hopes,  his  doubts, 
his  terrors ;  he  told  her  how  a  cloud,  he  knew  not  where 
fore,  had  overshadowed  his  horizon,  chilling,  as  it  were, 
the  very  sources  of  his  most  permanent  and  warm  affec 
tions  ;  he  told  her  how  he  valued  her  the  most  of  all 
things  earthly  ;  the  most  of  all  things,  save  his  God,  his 
country,  and  his  honor !  How  to  him  her  wedded  love 
would  be  indeed  the  all  in  all,  capable  of  making  that 
which  else  were  misery  the  highest  and  most  j>ure  enjoy 
ment  ;  —  how,  to  win  it,  he  would  lay  down  willingly  rank, 
name,  fame,  fortune,  everything  save  virtue ! 

He  told  her  that,  without  that  crowning  gift,  he  should, 
though  wealthier  than  the  wealthiest,  bear  but  a  beggared 
heart ;  though  girt  with  myriad  friends,  be  desolate  and 
lonely;  though  dwelling  in  his  very  birthplace,  be  a 
divorced  and  home-sick  exile  !  He  told  her  of  the  vio 
lent  and  ceaseless  strife  between  his  passion  and  his  con 
science,  of  his  profound  devotion  to  herself,  battling  and 
scarcely  to  be  overcome  by  his  more  deep  devotion  to  his 
country's  weal. 

"  It  may  be,"  he  continued,  "  it  may  be  that  I  am  but  a 

timorous  dreamer,   but  a  trembling  visionary,  shaking  at 

causeless  and  unreal  terrors.     It  may  be  that  the  trials, 

which  I  shudder  merely  at  foreseeing,  shall  never  conie 

E  7 


98  OLIVER  CROMWELL 

to  the  proof;  but  tins  is  what  I  dread,  and  what,  though 
dreading,  I  may  not,  if  it  come  to  pass,  avoid  or  shrink 
from,  even  to  win  what  wTere  to  me  a  thousand  times 
more  dear  than  life,  the  miseries  of  intestine  war  let  loose 
to  devastate  our  smiling  country !  a  wild  and  bloody  strife, 
dividing  brother  against  brother,  sire  against  son,  hus 
band,  sweet  Sibyl,  husband  against  wife !  A  strife  be 
tween  a  king  determined  to  be  absolute,  a  people  to  be 
free !  If  these  things  come  to  pass,  though  my  life  be 
barren,  and  my  deathbed  deserted,  yea,  though  my  heart 
be  broken  in  the  conflict,  yet  must  I  be  forever  the  sworn 
soldier  of  my  country's  freedom.  It  may  however  be, 
Heaven  grant  it  so !  that  I  do  falsely  calculate  the  signs 
of  coming  wrath ;  it  may  moreover  be,  that,  as  I  am,  so 
are  you  a  friend  to  liberty  and  justice,  more  than  a  wor 
shipper  of  kings !  and,  if  so,  all  shall  yet  be  well.  My 
father,  Sibyl,  my  old,  kind  father,  has  proffered  freely  his 
consent,  has  urged  me  to  obtain  your  promise,  that  you 
will  be  my  own  before  this  coming  winter  shall  have  made 
way  for  spring  flowers,  has  implored  me  'that  he  may  see 
us  happy;  such  is  his  only  wish  this  side  eternity,  before 
he  go  to  his  long  home!'  Be  mine,  then,  Sibyl,  oh  be 
mine,  ere  the  fierce  storm  of  war  shall  burst,  which  may 
divide  us,  and  forever ;  be  mine  to  cheer,  to  guide,  to  com 
fort,  and  to  bless ;  be  mine  for  weal  and  woe  ;  for  time  and 
for  eternity ! " 

While  he  was  speaking,  though  her  lips  quivered  often, 
and  parted  more  than  once,  as  if  she  would  have  interrupt 
ed  him,  though  her  color  went  and  came  in  brief  and  fit 
ful  flashes,  the  lovely  girl  had  never  once  withdrawn  her 
eyes  from  his  pale  face,  pale  with  the  struggle  of  contend 
ing  passions,  nor  relaxed  her  pressure  of  his  cold,  damp 
hand ;  and,  as  he  paused  from  his  deep-souled  and  eager 
pleading,  she  replied  at  once,  though  her  voice  faltered, 
and  the  big  tears  slid  down  her  cheeks. 

"  It  is,  then,"  she  said,  "  it  is,  then,  as  I  dreaded !  and 
our  young  hopes  have  been  but  as  a  morning  vision !  Oh, 
Edgar,  Edgar,  I  have  thought,  I  have  hoped,  I  have 
prayed  that  these  things  might  not  be,  and  yet  too  —  oh, 
too  surely  —  have  I  known  they  must !  "  and  she  hurried 
onward  with  her  speech,  as  if  she  feared  that  she  should 


THE  SETTING  OF  A  MIGHTY  HOPE.  99 

lack  the  strength  to  act  up  to  her  resolution.  "  Men  will 
say,"  she  went  on,  with  increasing  passion,  "  men  will  say, 
and  say  truly ,  but  I  care  not,  that  it  is  un maidenly  in  me 
to  speak  in  words  how  madly,  how  devotedly  I  love  you. 
My  hope  of  hopes  has  been,  you  cannot  doubt  it,  Edgar, 
no  !  no  !  you  cannot,  to  know  myself  your  wife ;  and  now 
my  hopes  are  anguish  and  despair.  But  think  not  that  I 
blame  you,  that  I  love  you,  honor  you,  adore  you,  one 
thousandth  part  the  less,  when  I  say,  God  grant  me 
strength  to  bear  it ;  when  I  say,  that  we  can  never,  never 
now,  be  one.  Your  father  has  to  me  been  more,  more 
than  a  father.  To  his  heart  your  defection — such  will  he 
term  and  feel  it  —  your  defection  from  the  loyalty  of  your 
high  race  will  strike  a  wound,  that  but  one  other  blow 
could  aggravate  or  deepen.  Were  I  to  fall  off  likewise, 
he  would  die,  Edgar ;  die,  and  leave  to  us  his  sole  be 
quest,  a  father's  malison.  No,  no  !  I  must  stay  with  him, 
must  console  the  old  man  in  his  barren  and  unfriended 
sorrows ;  must  soothe  his  cares,  and  turn  aside  his  anger, 
lest  it  wax  hotter  and  more  deadly  than  even  you,  Ed 
gar,  shall  be  able  to  endure.  Nor  is  this  all.  I  am  a  poor, 
weak  girl,  a  frail,  confiding  creature,  of  a  sex  whose  duty 
and  whose  nature  is  obedience ;  obedience  to  our  king, 
our  husband,  our  God !  I  argue  not !  I  hope  not,  fancy 
not,  that  I  can  change  your  judgment,  founded,  as  it  must 
be,  on  firm  conviction ;  nor  would  I  change  if  I  could ! 
That  which  in  women  is  nature,  virtue,  may  well  in  men 
be  weakness,  cowardice !  Your  intellect  is  strong,  and 
wise,  and  wonderful;  mine  womanish  and  weak;  nor 
should  I  love  and  venerate  you  as  I  do,  could  you  surren 
der  up  your  wisdom  at  the  bidding  of  my  weakness. 

"  Therefore  as  I  respect  your  scruples,  respect  mine  also. 
The  sapling  bends,  indeed,  to  the  wild  blast  that  bows  it; 
but,  when  the  hurricane  is  overpast,  it  stands  no  less  erect 
than  the  proud  oak  that  yielded  not  an  inch  to  the  storm's 
fury.  I  in  my  weakness,  you  in  your  strength,  we  are 
alike  immovable.  Yours  I  can  not  be  now,  may  not  be 
ever !  But  of  this  be  certain,  wedded  or  single,  royalist 
or  republican,  living  or  in  death,  you  only  shall  I  love,  you 
only  honor  —  honor  and  love  more  deeply,  that  I  know 
you  greater  in  adherence  to  that  which  I  must  deem  fan- 


100  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

cied  and  erroneous  duty,  than  did  you  think  as  I.  There 
is  one  hope  for  us  !  Edgar,  my  Edgar,  one!  If  this  wild 
storm  pass  by,  if  the  green  homes  of  England  be  unstained 
with  native  blood,  and  how  more  fervently  than  ever 
shall  I  now  pray  they  be  so,  then  may  we  yet  be  happy." 

The  blood  rushed  coldly  to  his  heart  as  he  heard  her 
out ;  nor,  though  he  had  expected  every  word  she  uttered, 
was  the  shock  less  stunning  or  the  anguish  lighter  than  if 
the  stroke  had  fallen  on  him  unaware.  Too  well,  how 
ever,  did  he  know,  and  too  entirely  respect,  the  princi 
ples  which  doomed  him  to  eternal  and  unutterable  sorrow, 
to  speak  one  syllable  in  answer  or  entreaty.  "  One  kiss," 
he  murmured,  through  his  set  teeth,  "  one  last  kiss,  my 
own,  lost  Sibyl."  And  she  fell  upon  his  bosom  unresisting, 
and  her  white  arms  were  twined  about  his  neck  with  a 
convulsive  clasp,  and  their  cold  lips  mingled  in  a  long  em 
brace  that  had  no  taste  of  passion  or  of  pleasure,  and  their 
tears  flowed  together  in  that  gush  of  unchecked  misery. 

Before  an  hour  elapsed  Arden  had  left  the  mansion  of 
his  fathers.  The  old  knight  wondered,  and  was  grieved, 
but  silent ;  he  saw,  at  an  eye's  glance,  that  his  own  hopes, 
his  first-born's  happiness,  had  been  dashed  rudely  down ; 
but,  to  imagine  wherefore,  conjecture  was  itself  at  fault. 
He  wept  upon  his  neck,  blessed  him,  and  sent  him  forth. 

A  pale  form,  indistinctly  seen  through  the  fast  gathering 
twilight,  stood  in  the  oriel  window  as  Edgar  slowly  mount 
ed,  but  the  burst  of  agonizing  sobs  that  followed  his  de 
parture  was  distinctly  audible.  Enough!  Tirnanthes 
veiled  the  face,  on  which  the  extremity  of  sorrow  was  en 
graved  in  characters  so  fearful  as  to  defy  the  utmost  skill 
of  human  portraiture. 


THE  COMMONS   HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.          101 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE     COMMONS     HOUSE     OF    P  A  E  L  I  A  M  E  NT. 

His  was  the  thunder,  his  the  avenging  rod, 

The  wrath,  the  delegated  voice  of  God, 

"Winch  shook  the  nations  through  his  lips,  and  blazed, 

"fill  vanquished  senates  trembled  as  they  praised. 

BYKON.— Monody  on  Sheridan. 

IT  was  a  dark  and  gloomy  afternoon  in  the  latter  days 
of  November,  when  Arden,  having  already  gone  through 
all  the  necessary  steps  preliminary  to  his  entering  on  his 
novel  duties,  and  having  devoted  a  few  days  to  renewing 
ancient  intimacies,  or  forming  new  relations,  with  some  of 
the  most  leading  men  of  either  party,  took  his  way  for  the 
first  time  toward  the  honored  precincts  of  St.  Stephens, 
around  the  walls  of  which,  now,  alas !  levelled  to  the 
ground  forever,  the  collective  eloquence  of  ages  had  shed 
even  then  ;»  halo  of  more  than  mortal  glory. 

The  house  had  been  some  time  in  session  when  he  en 
tered,  and,  to  his  almost  irrepressible  surprise,  in  passing 
to  his  seat,  the  object  that  first  met  his  eye  was  the  un 
gainly  figure  of  the  stranger  who  had  succored  him  near 
;»  >yston,  hribited,  as  heretofore  described,  in  garments 
coarse,  unsei  -nly,  and  ill-made,  standing  beside  the  table, 
which  at  tim-.-3  he  violently  struck  with  his  clinched  hand, 
and  speaking  in  a  sharp,  croaking  voice,  against  delay  in 
th-3  discussion  of  some  motion  then  before  the  house. 

It  did  not  seem  to  Ed^ar,  as  he  looked  hastily  around 
him,  that  the  members  listened  with  much  attention  to 
the  fiery  but  somewhat  involved  declamations  of  this  wor 
thy  ;  but,  after  a  few  moments'  survey,  his  notice  was  at 
tracted  by  the  bent  brows  and  compressed  lips  of  a  con 
siderable  number  of  gravely-attired  and  stern-looking  men, 
who  sat  apart  even  from  those  who  were  completely  re 
cognized  as  favorers  of  sweeping  measures  of  reform,  and 
ever  and  anon  responded  to  the  sentiments  expressed  by 
the  speaker  with -a  deep  hum  or  sullen  cheer  of  approba 
tion.  He  could  see,  too,  that  Hampden,  with  whom  he 
had  advanced  already  beyond  the  earliest  steps  of  friendly 
intercourse,  was  not  inattentive  to  the  words  of  this 


102  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

strange  looking  personage  ;  although  at  times  a  smile 
would  flit  across  his  comely  features  at  some  wild,  undi 
gested  thought,  or  strong  denunciation  fiercely  dispropor 
tionate  to  that  against  which  it  was  leveled.  He  had  not, 
however,  much  space  for  observation,  since  the  orator, 
who,  it  seemed,  had  well-nigh  finished  his  harangue,  ere 
he  came  into  the  assembly,  now  resumed  his  seat ;  and 
was  at  once  succeeded  by  a  youthful  gentleman,  whom 
Edgar  recognized  for  Lucius  Carey,  Viscount  Falkland,  of 
an  exterior  so  prepossessing,  that  in  another  man  it  would 
have  been  the  principal  attraction,  though  in  this  instance, 
it  was  but  the  goodly  shrine  of  a  surpassing  soul.  His 
form  was  slight,  but  elegantly  framed ;  his  countenance,  of 
singular  and  softened  beauty,  had  for  its  most  obvious 
traits  a  low,  fair  forehead,  from  which  the  waves  of  his 
light  brown  or  almost  flaxen  hair  hung  down  in  natural 
curls  below  his  cheeks ;  a  full  blue  eye,  well  opened  and 
expressive ;  a  bright  complexion ;  and  a  lip,  rich,  ripe,  and 
wooing  as  a  woman's.  He  was  clad  handsomely,  in  doub 
let,  short  trunk  hose,  and  cloak  of  dark  blue  velvet  slashed 
and  lined  with  rich  white  taffeta,  and  was  in  all  respects  a 
person  whose  appearance  would  denote  a  man  of  birth  and 
bearing.*  His  voice,  as  he  began  to  speak,  was  sweet  and 
tunable,  and  although  weak  at  first,  increased  in  energy 
and  power  as  he  proceeded,  till  Arden  felt  that  he  had 
never  listened  heretofore  to  any  one  combining  in  so  emi 
nent  a  degree  persuasiveness  and  strength  of  language. 

From  the  Lord  Falkland's  words  he  quickly  gathered 
that  the  measure  under  consideration  was  no  other  than 
the  famous  and  much  contested  bill  of  general  remon 
strance,  which,  it  appeared,  had  been  at  this  late  hour 
brought  forward  by  the  opposition  party,  wThen  the  morn 
ing  had  been  wasted  in  minor  and  unprofitable  questions, 
with  the  hope  of  smuggling  it,  as  it  were,  through  the 
house,  during  the  absence  of  many,  its  most  known  oppo 
nents.  The  speech  of  the  young  nobleman  was  luminous, 
though  brief;  and  touching  in  no  respect  on  the  principles 
or  object  of  the  bill,  went  clearly  and  directly  to  the  point, 
asserting  that  it  should  not,  at  that  irregular  and  most  in- 

*  This  description  is  accurately  drawn  from  the  original  picture  by  Vandyke,  in 
the  collection  of  Lord  Arandell  of  Wardour. 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.         103 

decent  hour,  be  forced  upon  the  assembly,  unprepared,  at 
least,  if  not  reluctant  to  consider  it.  Loudly  applauded 
by  the  moderate  party,  as  well  as  by  the  open  antagonists 
of  the  measure,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  speech ;  and 
not  less  warmly,  though  more  sparingly,  at  times  by  its 
impartial  and  sincere  espousers,  Hampden,  and  Pym,  and 
Holiis,  he  concluded  with  a  motion  that  the  house  should 
presently  adjourn,  and  that  this  question  "  should  be  en 
tered  upon  the  next  morning  at  nine  of  the  clock,  and 
every  clause  debated,  the  speaker  in  the  chair." 

As  he  sat  down,  a  dozen  members  rose  at  once  on  op 
posite  sides,  and  for  some  minutes  all  was  clamor  and  con 
fusion,  trampling  of  feet,  loud  cries  of  "  Question !  "  "  Or 
der  !  "  and  "  Go  on !  "  mixed  with  vociferated  names  of 
favorite  orators,  called  on  to  utter  their  opinions.  At 
length,  however,  Lenthall,  the  speaker  of  the  house,  with 
his  clear,  sonorous  voice,  enforced  obedience  to  the  chair, 
and  quiet  was  again  restored.  Lord  Falkland's  motion 
was  instantly  seconded  by  Hampden,  in  a  few  words, 
forcibly  but  simply  urging  the  necessity  that  this  great 
question  should  be  freely  discussed  and  openly,  by  all 
who  might  decide  to  take  a  part  therein. 

The  house  was  cleared  for  question,  and  the  adjourn 
ment  carried  with  few  dissenting  voices.  There  was  but 
little  tarrying  within  the  body  of  the  house;  but  as  they 
passed  into  the  lobby  and  down  the  parliament  stairs, 
men  fell  into  little  knots  of  two  or  three,  discoursing, 
some  on  the  occurrences  of  the  discussion  just  conclu 
ded,  and  some  on  matters  of  more  general  and  varied 
interest. 

It  was  at  this  moment,  just  as  Edgar  fell  into  a  group 
in  Avhich  he  had  observed  the  figures  of  Hyde,  hi  after 
days  more  celebrated  as  Lord  Clarendon  and  chancellor 
of  England,  St.  John,  Lord  Digby,  Colepepper,  and 
Hampden,  all  spirits  in  some  sort  congenial  to  each  other ; 
all  being  favorers,  ostensibly  at  least,  though  differing  in 
mode  and  measure,  of  reform,  both  in  the  church  and 
state,  that  the  orator,  whom  he  had  judged  at  the  first 
sight  to  be  Lord  Falkland,  passed  by  so  closely  as  almost 
to  brush  his  person  with  his  cloaks  deeply  engaged  in  con 
versation  with  his  mysterious  fellow-traveller.  This  latter 


104  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

cast  a  glance  of  recognition  toward  him,  accompanied  by 
a  short,  unceremonious  nod,  though  without  making  any 
panse,  or  breaking  off  in  his  discourse,  which  he  contin 
ued  in  such  tones  as  reached  the  ears  of  Arden. 

"But  verily,"  he  said,  "but  verily,  I  see  not  where 
fore  you  would  have  it  thus  put  off;  for  this  day  would 
right  quickly  have  decided  it." 

tfc  There  would  not  have  been  time  enough,"  replied 
the  other,  shortly ;  "for  it  would  sure  take  some  debate." 

"  A  very  sorry  one !  a  very  sorry  one,  my  lord,  if  any," 
answered  the  Puritan,  who  was  already  passing  out  of 
sight,  when  Edgar  touched  the  shoulder  of  John  Hamp- 
d  MI,  whom  he  had  previously  addressed.  "  I  pray  you, 
of  your  courtesy,"  he  whispered,  "  Master  Hampden  ;  I 
pray  you,  tell  me,  who  is  that  slovenly  and  clownish- 
looking  man  in  converse  with  my  lord  of  Falkland  !  You 
know  him,  I  think,  for  I  see  he  is  on  your  side,  by  his 
warm  speech  to-day." 

"  That  sloven,"  *  answered  Hampden  —  and,  in  after 
days,  when  the  undaunted  breast  of  him  who  spoke  was 
mouldering  in  its  bloody  cerements,  not  the  least  noble 
victim  of  that  lamentable  strife,  his  auditor  remembered 
those  prophetic  words — "  whom  you  see  before  you,  hath 
no  ornament  in  his  speech.  That  sloven,  I  say,  if  we 
should  ever  come  to  a  breach  with  the  king,  which  God 
forbid  !  in  such  a  case,  I  say,  that  sloven  will  be  the  great 
est  man  in  England." 

"  Indeed !  "  said  Arden,  thoughtfully,  "  indeed !  I  had 
not  thought  of  him  so  highly.  And  yet  I  do  believe,  nay, 
I  am  well  assured,  I  have  encountered  him  before.  His 
name — " 

"His  name  is  Cromwell,"  replied  the  patriot ;  "  Oliver 
Cromwell,  member  now  for  the  good  town  of  Cambridge, 
and  little  known  as  yet,  or  listened  to,  save  by  a  few  aus 
tere  religionists  ;  yet  of  great  parts !  unwearied  diligence, 
undaunted  courage,  penetration  that  intuitively  reads  the 
wariest  hearts,  and  perseverance  that  will  yield  to  nothing 
human !  That  you  have  met  him  I  can  well  believe,  at 

*This  very  remarkably  and  prophetic  speech  \vns  actually  uttered  by  TTampden, 
in  replv  to  the  question,  as  jji  ven  above,  of  L»nl  Diirbv.  in  ilie  first  year  of  tlie  Long 
Parliament ;  i.  e.,  at  a  date  a  little  earlier  than  that  assigned  to  it  in  the  text. 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.  105 

the  least  he  knows,  thinks,  and  speaks  of  you  highly ! 
You  will  be  here  to-morrow,  Master  Arclen,"  he  contin 
ued,  after  a  momentary  pause ;  "  you  will  be  here  to 
morrow  ;  and  with  us^  I  trust !  If  we  should  lose  this 
bill,  it  will,  I  fear  me  much,  go  hard  with  England's 
liberties." 

"Here  I  shall  be,  past  question,"  answered  Edgar. 
"  I  scarce  should  hold  myself  an  honest  man  were  I  to 
quit  my  station  in  the  crisis  of  the  storm ;  although,"  he 
continued,  with  a  smile,  "  although  that  station  be  a  new 
one,  and  its  occupant  but  strange  and  inexperienced. 
Here  shall  I  be,  but  more  you  must  not  ask  of  me.  How 
I  shall  vote,  or  if  indeed  at  all,  till  I  have  heard  both  rea 
sons  and  objections,  I  may  not  easily  decide.  Where 
fore,  good  Master  Hamden,  if  you  do  care,  in  truth,  for 
the  assistance  of  my  vote,  you  were  best  call  to  aid  that 
eloquence  and  depth  of  reasoning  whereof  I  hear  men 
bear  such  testimony ;  and  so  convince  me  that  my  coun 
try's  weal  requires  it  at  my  hand !  Give  you  good-night, 
fair  gentlemen,"  he  added,  with  a  courteous  motion  to 
ward  the  company ;  "  we  meet  again  to-morrow." 

"If  you  be  not  in  more  than  common  haste,"  said 
Hampden,  laying  a  slight  detention  on  his  arm,  as  he 
turned  round  to  leave  the  lobby,  "  I  will  entreat  you 
tarry,  while  I  speak  ten  words  with  my  Lord  Digby. 
Your  lodging  lies,  if  I  mistake  not,  this  side  Charing ;  and 
my  road  is  the  same.  If  you  can  wait  on  me  five  min 
utes  at  the  farthest,  I  will  rejoice  to  have  your  homeward 
company ;  and  will  upon  the  way,  I  do  assure  you,  exert 
what  reasons  I  possess  to  win  you  to  conviction." 

Arden  assented.  Nor  did  the  minutes  which  elapsed 
while  that  high-minded  patriot  remonstrated,  as  it  Avould 
seem  by  his  quick,  energetic  whispers,  with  the  tergiver 
sating  noble,  pass  heavily,  as  he  conversed  with  the  dis 
tinguished  men  who  seemed  to  give — desirous  each,  per 
haps,  of  winning  to  his  respective  faction  a  partisan  so 
like  to  prove  of  weight  in  the  then  equally  poised  state 
of  parties — that  eager  and  respectful  heed  to  every  word 
he  uttered,  which  cannot  fail  to  please  the  minds  even  of 
those  the  least  accessible  to  ordinary  adulation.  With  a 
glance  pregnant  of  meaning,  and  an  admonition  strongly 
E* 


106  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

urged,  although  its  import  could  not  be  distinguished  by 
the  bystanders,  Hampden  turned  from  Lord  Digby  and 
announced  his  readiness  to  walk,  flinging  his  cloak  in  sev 
eral  folds  over  his  left  arm,  and  bringing  round  his  ra 
pier's  hilt  to  meet  his  grasp  if  needed ;  precautions  not 
uncalled  for  in  those  times  of  fierce  and  virulent  com 
motion. 

As  they  passed  down  the  stairs,  the  men  in  waiting  re 
cognized  their  masters,  and  fell  at  once  into  their  places ; 
two  moving  on  in  front  with  lighted  links  or  flambeaux, 
necessary  in  those  days,  when  the  most  frequented  thor 
oughfares  of  the  metropolis  could  boast  few  lamps  but 
those  which  graced  the  residence  of  some  great  noble, 
and  two  stepping  along  three  paces  in  the  rear,  their  eyes 
warily  moving  to  and  fro,  and  watching  with  keen  scru 
tiny  the  air  of  every  passenger  who  met  or  overtook 
them  ;  and  their  hands  in  frequent  contact  with  the  pom 
mels  of  their  swords. 

For,  notwithstanding  the  eulogium  passed  some  years 
before  by  a  French  resident  of  high  distinction  on  the 
orderly  and  peaceful  regulation  of  the  English  capital,  in 
honorable  contrast  to  the  debauched  and  dangerous  tur 
bulence  of  Paris,  party  spirit  at  this  time  ran  to  such  a 
height,  and  tumults  were  so  constant  between  the  fac 
tions  recently  accommodated  with  distinctive  titles  of 
cavaliers  and  roundheads — tumults  in  which  much  blood 
was  spilt  and  even  some  lives  lost,  the  sturdy  citizens  re 
sisting  with  their  bats  and  cudgels  the  rapiers  of  the 
disbanded  officers  and  other  desperadoes  ever  to  be 
found  about  the  palace  of  Whitehall  —  that  few,  whose 
purses  could  maintain  such  followers,  esteemed  it  safe  to 
walk  the  streets  by  night  without  their  armed  attend 
ance  ;  particularly  such  as  were  obnoxious  to  assault,  or 
insult  at  the  least,  in  consequence  of  party  eminence  or  of 
political  renown. 

At  a  few  steps  distance  from  the  house,  they  encoun 
tered  a  stout  body  of  the  train-bands,  well  equipped  with 
muskets,  swords,  and  bandoleers,  forming  a  portion  of  the 
guards  which,  on  the  news  of  the  attempt  against  Argyle 
and  Hamilton,  the  Commons  had  required  to  be  detailed 
for  their  protection  by  the  Earl  of  Essex,  at  that  time 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.  107 

general-in-chief  on  this  side  Trent ;  and  to  this  it  might 
perhaps  in  some  degree  be  owing,  that  during  their  walk 
homeward  no  circumstance  of  annoyance  or  attack  oc 
curred  to  interrupt  the  converse  of  these  high-minded  men ; 
who,  though  but  newly  and  imperfectly  acquainted,  al 
ready  felt,  each  for  the  other,  that  reverential  admiration 
which  is  often  the  precursor  to  familiar  friendship.  At 
Arden's  lodging  door,  with  feelings  of  increased  respect, 
and  with  renewed  promises  of  a  meeting  on.  the  morrow, 
they  then  parted ;  the  one  hastening  to  some  nightly  con 
clave,  there  to  deliberate  with  his  associate  patriots  on 
measures  rife  with  England's  weal ;  the  other  to  stretch 
his  limbs  upon  a  sleepless  couch,  and  ponder  over  the 
effects  of  his  accession  to  the  popular  party  on  his  own 
fate  and  fortunes.  Kind  sleep,  however,  came  at  last,  to 
seal  up  for  a  little  space  the  sources  of  his  deep  disquie 
tude,  and  to  allay,  until  another  sun  should  wake  him  to 
fresh  struggles,  fresh  anxieties,  the  feverish  tumults  of  his 
bosom.  Still,  so  engrossing  was  the  subject  which  last 
had  occupied  his  mind  before  he  sunk  into  slumber,  and 
so  powerful  the  operation  of  his  spirit  even  while  the 
body  was  buried  in  what  seemed  absolute  oblivion,  that 
scarcely  had  the  earliest  indications  of  the  wintry  twi 
light  crept  through  the  fogs  of  the  near  river,  ere  he 
awoke,  and,  starting  instantly  from  his  bed,  began  to  do 
his  garments  on,  summoning  the  while  his  dilatory  fol 
lowers  to  prepare  his  morning  meal. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  his  haste,  so  gloomy  was  the 
dawning,  and  so  late,  at  that  drear  season,  the  uprising 
of  the  sun,  that  he  had  scarce  the  time  to  snatch  a  hur 
ried  morsel  before  his  horses  were  announced  to  bear 
him  to  St.  Stephen's,  and,  almost  at  the  self-same  instant, 
two  gentlemen  to  speak  with  Master  Arden ! — and,  with 
the  word,  John  Hainpden  entered  the  apartment,  accom 
panied  by  a  person  of  most  "unusual"  and  forbidding  as 
pect.  Austere,  fanatical,  and  gloomy  he  might  have  been 
pronounced  at  the  first  sight  by  any  person  moderately 
skillful  at  deciphering  men's  characters  from  the  expres 
sion  of  their  features.  His  dress  would  not,  perhaps,  en 
tirely  bear  out  the  charge  —  for  such,  and  a  most  grave 
one,  was  it  deemed  by  the  wild  cavaliers — of  Puritanism ; 


108  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

for,  although  uniform  and  rather  grave  in  color,  it  yet 
was  cut  with  attention  to  the  prevailing  mode,  as  well  as 
to  the  setting  oft*  a  person  infinitely  less  ungainly  than  his 
countenance  was  harsh  and  extraordinary.  His  hat,  too, 
which  he  carried  in  his  hand,  was  decorated  with  a  feath 
er,  and  his  sword  hung  from  a  shoulder-knot  adorned  with 
fringe  and  tassels. 

Before,  however,  Edgar  had  well  surveyed  the  stranger, 
he  was  addressed  by  his  companion  of  the  previous  eve 
ning.  "We  have,  I  fear,  intruded  somewhat  on  your 
privacy,"  he  said,  "  at  this  unwonted  hour,  I  and  my  good 
friend,  Harry  Vane  the  younger ;  whom  I  beseech  you, 
Master  Arden,  know  as  such ;  right  soon,  I  trust,  to 
stand  in  similar  relation  to  yourself;  but  we  were  both 
desirous  of  your  company  this  morning  to  the  house,  and 
I  would  fain  propose  that  you  shall  for  the  present  occupy 
a  seat  nigh  mine.  Till  you  shall  be  in  some  degree  ac 
customed  to  the  usages  and  method  of  the  house,  it  may 
be  my  experience  shall  in  somewhat  profit  you ;  and  I 
fear  not  to  make  this  offer,  seeing  that,  should  you  find 
hereafter  that  your  conscience  may  not  justify  your  be 
ing  one  of  us,  I  shall  provide  that  none  may  look  on  you 
as  a  defaulter  from  our  party  ;  and  I  have  heard  and  seen 
enough,  methinks,  already  of  your  character  and  bearing 
to  know  that,  even  should  you  differ  from  us  as  to  the 
quality  or  manner,  you  are  not  like  to  be  against  us  as  to 
the  needfulness  of  some  reform ;  so  that  to  be  seen  ac 
companying  one  so  hateful  to  the  courtly  faction  as 
John  Hainpden,  shall  in  no  sort  prevent  you  of  ad 
vancement." 

"  Most  thankfully,"  said  Edgar,  after  exchanging  cour 
tesies  with  Vane,  "  do  I  accept  your  offer ;  the  rather, 
that  as  yet  I  know  not,  though  I  fain  would  learn,  the 
persons  of  many  among  your  famous  orators  ;  and  for  the 
rest,  my  vote  will  not,  nor  my  opinion  either,  be  affected 
anywise  by  sitting  in  this  place  or  that.  But  now,  if 
I  mistake  not,  time  is  urgent,  and  we  should  be  on 
our  way.  Ride  you,  fair  gentlemen  ?  My  horses  wait 
even  now;  but  if  you  walked  thus  far  I  shall  dismiss 
them  —  » 

"  We  came  on  horseback,  and  it  is  indeed  full  time  we 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.         109 

were  at  the  house ;  the  bells  rang  nine  some  time  ere  we 
arrived,"  replied  Sir  Harry.  "  We  will,  if  it  please  you, 
get  us  at  once  to  horse." 

The  pace  at  which  they  rode,  when  they  had  mounted, 
prevented  the  possibility  of  any  serious  or  connected  con 
versation,  and  but  few  minutes  were  consumed  in  the 
brief  gallop  that  brought  them  to  the  low-browed  portal 
of  St.  Stephen's.  The  privates  of  the  civic  guard  on  duty 
at  the  door,  presented  arms,  as  if  to  some  high  officer,  as 
the  patriot  leaders  passed  them ;  and  it  was  not  long  ere 
they  were  seated  all  together  in  the  body  of  the  house, 
at  no  great  distance  from  the  speaker's  chair.  The  gal 
leries  were  crowded,  as  it  seemed,  well  nigh  to  suffoca- 
cation,  not  with  the  ordinary  idlers  who  resorted  thither 
only  to  dissipate  the  tedium  of  an  hour  not  otherwise  em 
ployed,  but  with  men  whose  anxious  faces,  and  limbs  that 
almost  trembled  with  excitement,  announced  the  deep 
and  painful  interest  they  took  in  the  debate,  which  had 
commenced  already ;  and  with  a  spirit  so  unusual  at  the 
opening  of  a  measure  as  might  be  held  a  sure  prognostic 
of  the  fiery  and  determined  ardor  with  which  it  would  be 
carried  on  ere  it  might  come  to  question. 

At  the  moment  when  they  entered,  Hollis  was  on  his 
legs,  urging  with  logical  and  beautiful  precision  the  abso 
lute  necessity  of  fixing,  and  on  grounds  so  sure  that  they 
should  never  more  be  moved,  the  limits  between  right 
constitutional  prerogative  and  absolute  despotic  power ; 
pointing  out  the  gradual  and  successive  innovations  by 
which  the  ruling  monarch  had  encroached  on  all  the 
liberties,  both  civil  and  religious,  of  the  English  people  ; 
the  tampering  with  jesuited  Papists ;  the  evident  dis 
like  to  parliaments  ;  the  most  illegal  levyings  of  money 
by  violent  and  arbitrary  contribution ;  the  billeting 
of  irresponsible  and  lawless  soldiery  on  private  house 
holders  ;  the  imprisoning  of  members  contrary  to  priv 
ilege  of  parliament,  for  words  or  sentiments  expressed 
therein — "  One  of  whom,"  he  proceeded — "  one  noble, 
and  eloquent,  and  wise,  and  loyal — than  whom  no  better 
subject  breathed  the  breath  of  life  within  the  girt  of  the 
four  seas  that  compass  Britain — died — miserably  died 
within  the  walls, of  an  illegal  and  inquisitorial  dungeon — 


110  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

for  want  of  natural  refreshment!  Whose  blood,"  he 
added,  in  loud  and  pealing  tones,  that  woke  an  echo  in 
the  breast  of  every  free-souled  man,  "whose  blood  of  life, 
untimely  and  unrighteously  dried  up,  still  cries,  cries  even 
from  the  dungeon  walls  wherein  yet  lies  the  mouldering 
clay  whence  persecution  drove  the  free  and  fearless  spirit, 
still  cries,  I  say,  to  every  English  heart,  cries  trumpet- 
tongued  for  vengeance  !  " 

Wildly  and  fiercely  rose  the  mingled  shout — for  it  was 
nothing  less — of  approbation  and  disgust.  "  Eliot !  "  ex 
claimed  one  bolder  than  the  rest,  making  aloud  the  appli 
cation  which  all  had  tacitly  perceived ;  "  Eliot !  the  mur 
dered  Eliot ! "  while  the  hall  rang  with  diverse  cries  of 
"  Treason !  "  "  Vengeance !  "  "  Order !  "  the  latter  word 
prevailing  gradually,  even  as  the  rest  subsided,  till  the 
orator  again  obtained  a  clear  field  for  his  manly  elocution. 

With  a  lower  voice  and  less  impassioned  manner,  he 
then  proceeded  to  recount  a  train  of  grievances  that 
seemed  to  defy  enumeration ;  the  new  and  unfair  tax  of 
ship-money — the  seas  ill-guarded,  and  the  mariners  left 
naked  to  the  violence  of  Turkish  pirates — the  depopula 
ting  of  the  city  by  the  imposition  of  enormous  fines — the 
seizing  of  the  merchants'  money  in  the  mint — the  shame 
less  project  of  brass  coinage — the  barbarous  and  reckless 
censures  of  self-constituted  courts — "  with  their  imprison 
ing  and  banishing — their  stigmatizing,  gagging,  scourg 
ing,  and  mutilating — ay!  I  said  mutilating!"  he  went 
on,  with  energy  befitting  well  his  subject — "  mutilating 
the  free  limbs  of  uncondemned  and  unoffending  Britons ! " 

"  And  I  say  this,"  he  cried,  louder  and  clearer  yet,  "  I 
say  this,  not  of  an  Ottoman  Divan — not  of  a  Spanish  In 
quisition — but  of  an  English  Chamber ! — of  a  Star  Cham 
ber  HERE  !  Here,  in  the  land  of  Magna  Charta ! — Here, 
where  the  code  of  Alfred  is  not  as  yet  forgotten  or  ex 
tinct  !  A  chamber  judging  not  by  law,  and  trying  not 
by  jury !  A  chamber  forcing  men  to  yield  their  substance 
to  be  wasted  in  the  raising  armies  and  equipping  fleets — 
for  what  ? — what  but  to  compel  their  fellows,  their  Prot 
estant  and  pious  brethren,  to  worship  HIM  who  made 
them,  according,  not  to  conscience  nor  to  faith,  but  to  the 
will  of  painted  potsherds ! — scarlet  iniquities ! — hoary  and 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.  1 1 1 

venerable  sins! — wolves  in  sheep's  clothing! — faithless 
and  hireling  shepherds,  hounding  the  dogs  upon  the  flock 
which  they  should  guard  and  cherish! — prebends,  and 
deans,  and  bishops  !  " 

And,  amid  a  tumult  of  applause,  the  popular  and 
weighty  orator  resumed  his  seat,  while  Hyde  uprose, 
not,  as  it  seemed,  to  answer,  but  to  palliate,  to  palter,  to 
procrastinate ;  for  not  once  did  he  summon  courage  to 
question  or  deny  that  which  no  earthly  wit  or  wisdom 
could  disprove.  And  fiercely  as  the  measure  was  dis 
cussed,  it  was  yet  most  remarkable  that  not  one  of  the 
royal  partisans,  maintaining,  as  they  did  most  resolutely, 
the  debate  from  morning  till  past  midnight,  spoke  so 
much  as  a  word  to  the  denial  of  these  charges ;  urging, 
only,  the  wantonness  of  representing  with  such  sharp  re 
flections  things,  some  of  which  already  were  amended, 
and  others  in  fair  state  of  promise  toward  adjustment; 
the  impolicy  of  alienating  more  the  good  will  of  the  king, 
now  well  ^  disposed  to  gracious  reformation  ;  and,  above 
all,  the  wickedness  of  thus  infusing  jealousies,  and  strife, 
and  discord  into  the  bosom  of  a  state  at  this  time  flour 
ishing,  as  some  had  the  courage  to  add,  beyond  all  pre 
vious  precedent  in  the  fair  growth  of  freedom. 

All  this  made  forcible  impression  on  the  clear  mind  of 
Arden,  as  he  listened  with  enthusiastic  feelings,  it  is  true, 
but  still  with  calm  discrimination,  to  the  successive  bursts, 
sometimes  of  eloquence,  thrilling,  sublime,  and  almost 
superhuman  in  its  majesty,  sometimes  of  coarse,  fanatical, 
and  phrensied  ravings — while  Glyn  and  Maynard,  Crom 
well  and  Pym,  and  lastly,  the  unrivalled  Hampden,  advo 
cated  this  great  measure — equals  all,  if  not  in  perspicuity 
of  argument  or  vividness  of  torrent  elocution,  if  not  in 
talent  or  ability,  at  least  in  truth  and  fervor,  and  in  that 
single-minded  earnestness  which  proved  past  doubt  their 
genuine  and  deep  sincerity. 

At  first  he  waited  with  strong  interest  the  rising  of 
some  champion  who  should  turn,  or  at  the  least  dispute, 
the  triumph  with  the  speakers  of  the  liberal  party ;  then, 
as  one  after  one  they  took  their  places  at  the  table,  and 
spoke  their  speeches,  varied  in  vigor  and  in  brilliance,  but 
monotonous  in  argument,  or  rather  in  the  want  of  it,  a 


112  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

sense  of  disappointment  overcame  him  ;  and  by  slow  de 
grees  the  strong  conviction  gained,  that  the  cause  must 
be  indeed  vicious  and  feeble  for  which  its  most  devoted 
favorers,  wise,  eloquent,  and  witty  as  confessedly  they 
were,  had  nothing  to  advance  beyond  what  he  had  that 
day  heard  with  mingled  feelings  of  contempt  and  wonder. 

Hours  fled  away  like  moments ;  and  before  Edgar 
knew  that  it  was  noon,  evening  fell  dark  on  the  discus 
sion  ;  then  neither  party  willing  to  adjourn,  candles  were 
called  for,  and  the  strife  of  words  went  on,  waxing  more 
wild  and  fierce  as  each  successive  speaker  added  his  mite 
of  fuel  to  the  fast-kindling  blaze.  Meantime  the  house 
grew  thinner,  as  the  weary  and  the  weak,  the  delicate  in 
health  or  frail  in  years,  reluctantly  departed,  actually 
worn  out  by  the  lassitude  that  succeeds  ever  to  unnatural 
excitement ;  and  the  arena  of  the  mental  gladiators  be 
came  more  open  to  their  virulent  contention.  And  still, 
at  each  succeeding  pause,  the  liberal  party  seemed  to  gain 
in  strength ;  the  mighty  hum  of  approbation  rose  more 
audibly  at  every  bold  and  popular  sentiment ;  while  the 
cheers  of  the  diminished  royalists  now  failed  to  rouse 
their  flagging  and  disheartened  orators. 

So  wondrous  was  the  prevalent  excitement,  that  it  drove 
even  the  calm,  dispassioned  blood  of  Arden  dancing 
through  all  his  veins  like  streams  of  liquid  fire ;  and  he 
found  himself  ere  long  lending  his  breath  to  swell  the 
shout  of  admiration  that  followed  every  sentence  uttered 
by  the  latter  speakers.  At  length  the  house  divided  on 
the  passing  of  the  bill ;  and  however  *  certain  the  result 
had  seemed  while  distant,  so  thickly  mustered  the  oppo 
nents  of  the  measure,  that  many  an  honest  heart  fluttered 
in  doubt,  and  many  a  face  of  England's  noblest  sons  was 
dark  as  midnight  with  despondency. 

During  the  moment  of  confusion  which  always  must 
occur  at  such  a  crisis,  a  whisper  fell  upon  the  ear 'of  Ed 
gar,  a  low,  stern  whisper,  not  addressed  to  him,  nor  at 
that  instant  comprehended,  uttered,  as  he  fancied,  in 
the  sneering  tones  of  St.  John.  "  Look  now ! "  it 
said,  "  look  now,  friend  Oliver,  to  your  most  promising 
recruit ! "  The  answer  came,  though  he  saw  not  the 
.speaker,  in  the  .harsh  voice  of  Cromwell ;  "  Nay,  verily  1 


THE  COMMONS  HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.  113 

but  do  thou  look  ;  and  thine  eyes  shall  see  the  truth  of 
that  I  told  thee !  » 

All,  at  the  time,  passed  with  the  speed  and  nearly  with 
the  tumult  of  a  whirlwind;  nor,  although  afterward  he  felt 
assured  that  the  words  had  reference  to  himself,  did  they 
then  penetrate  beyond  his  outward  ear.  Without  a  mo 
mentary  doubt,  a  thought  of  hesitation,  Edgar  stepped 
forth,  and  sealed  the  downfall  of  his  private  fortunes  by 
the  vote  which  he  recorded  in  the  cause  of  England's  lib 
erty.  A  small  majority  of  but  eleven  voices  passed  that 
eventful  bill,  the  loss  of  which  would  have  exiled  hun 
dreds,  the  best  and  wisest  of  the  land,  driving  them  forth 
to  seek,  amid  the  snow-clad  wilds  of  the  New  England 
shore,  what  they  had  then  despaired  at  home,  "  freedom 
to  worship  God." 

Scarce  had  the  hearty  cheering  which  followed  this  an 
nouncement  ended,  ere  Hampden  rose  again,  to  move 
"  that  there  might  be  an  order  entered  for  the  present 
printing  of  it ; "  and  straightway,  as  if  all  that  had  preceded 
it  were  but  the  prelude  and  slight  skirmish  which  so  gen 
erally  leads  to  a  pitched  battle,  a  debate — if  that  which 
was  all  animosity,  and  virulence,  and  fury,  can  be  called 
debate — ensued,  which  speedily  effaced  all  recollection  of 
the  previous  struggle,  and  had  well-nigh  steeped  the  hands 
of  the  contending  factions  in  each  other's  gore. 

Hyde  started  to  his  feet  the  first,  praying  that  he  might 
have  permission  to  enter  his  protest,  believing,  as  he  said, 
such  printing  of  the  bill,  without  concurrence  of  the 
lords,  to  be  alike  unprecedented  and  illegal ;  and,  ere  he 
had  well  ended,  up  sprang  Jeffry  Palmer,  a  member  of 
high  standing  in  the  house  for  wisdom  and  experience, 
no  less  than  for  distinguished  talent,  with  flashing  fea 
tures  and  a  voice  that  quivered  with  hot  passion,  moving 
u  that  he  likewise  might  protest !  " 

The  mildest  and  most  stately  of  demeanor  among  the 
assembled  counselors  might  be  seen  with  blood-shot  eyes, 
and  tones  husky  and  cracked  with  clamoring ;  and  the 
more  sullen  and  fanatical  sitting  with  teeth  hard  set,  and 
hands  upon  their  hilts,  as  if  but  waiting  for  a  voice  to 
cry,  "The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon,"  or 
some  other  text  of  warlike  and  blood-thirsty  import,  be- 

8 


114  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

fore  they  should  betake  them,  in  their  own  language,  to 
the  carnal  weapon. 

So  critical,  indeed,  was  the  conjuncture  of  affairs,  and 
to  such  lengths  had  private  pique  and  public  animosity 
been  carried,  among  men  all  armed  in  token  of  their  gen 
tle  birth,  that,  writing  coolly  in  his  journal  after  the  heat 
and  passion  of  the  contest  had  gone  by,  Sir  Philip  War 
wick  has  recorded,  that  "  when  they  voted  it,  I  thought 
we  had  all  sat  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ;  for 
we,  like  Joab  and  Abner's  young  men,  had  catched  at 
each  other's  locks,  and  sheathed  our  swords  in  each  other's 
bowels,  had  not  the  sagacity  and  great  calmness  of  Mr. 
Hampden,  by  a  short  speech,  prevented  us,  and  led  us  to 
defer  our  angry  debate  until  next  morning."  And  so  in 
truth  it  was  ;  for  at  two  of  the  clock  past  midnight,  when 
he  saw  that  nothing  could  be  hoped  in  the  then  temper 
of  the  house,  that  wise  and  upright  statesmen  moved  an 
adjournment  until  two  of  the  next  afternoon,  prescribing 
motives  so  replete  with  good  sense  and  good  feeling, 
that  none  so  stubborn  as  could,  with  any  show  of  right, 
gainsay  him. 

Worn  out  and  wearied,  body  and  mind  alike,  with  the 
protracted  contest,  men  of  both  parties  mingled  hurriedly 
as  they  flocked  homeward  ;  and  again  it  was  the  chance  of 
Arden  strangely  enough  to  be  ear-witness  to  a  conversa 
tion  between  Cromwell  and  Lord  Falkland.  The  former 
he  had  joined,  hard  by  the  foot  of  the  great  staircase,  de 
siring  in  some  degree  to  cultivate  relations  with  a  man 
whose  words  and  aspect  had  imbued  him  with  a  feeling 
which  he  could  not  well  account  for  or  define,  but  which 
in  after  days  he  mentioned  as  a  prophetic  awe,  for  that  he 
was  in  presence  of  a  spirit  mightier  than  his  own.  The 
latter  overtook  them  suddenly,  and  was  passing  onward 
at  the  first  without  addressing  either,  till  he  caught  the 
eye  of  Cromwell.  "  Ha ! "  he  said,  with  a  quiet  smile,  not 
wholly  free  from  irony  —  "  Ha !  Master  Cromwell,  think 
you  there  hath  been  a  debate  to-day  ?  " 

"  Another  time,"  replied  the  Puritan  —  "  another  time, 
and  I  will  take  your  word  —  but  verily,  I  say  to  you  — 
verily,  as  the  Lord  Jehovah  liveth,  had  this  remonstrance 
rejected,  then  had  I  sold  mine  all  of  worldly  sulx 


THE  COMMONS   HOUSE  OF  PARLIAMENT.          115 

stance  on  the  morrow  — ay  I  and  had  taken  up  my  staff 
and  girt  me  with  my  sword  upon  my  thigh,  and  never  had 
seen  England  any  more !  " 

"Nor  you  alone,  perchance !»  answered  the  youthful 
noble,  after  a  moment  of  reflection.  "Methinks  I  have 
heard  others  named  for  a  like  resolution !" 

"  Perchance  I  —  Me  no  perchance ! »  cried  Oliver,  with 
a  triumphant  smile.  "Had  the  malignants  carried  it,  I 
11  you  that  their  victory  had  robbed  old  England  of  her 
trustiest  spirits !  But  now,  my  lord,  mark  well  my  words ! 
—  and  you  too,  friend— if  that  you  be,  as  I  do  partly 
think  you  are--  and  if  you  be  not,  and  I  be  in  error,  then 
may  the  Lord  enlighten  and  amend  you— a  friend  to  lib- 
erty  mark  well  my  words !  There  shall  be  no  stint  more, 
nor  let,  nor  hmderance !  Papists  and  tyrants  in  this  soon! 
to-be-regenerated  land  shall  no  more  hold  dominion  !  The 
name  of  Englishman,  now  scorned  and  scoffed  at  through- 
out  Europe -you,  Edgar  Arden,  you  do  know  the  truth 
of  that  which  I  aver  — shall  be  as  far  and  wide  revered  as 
ever  was  the  name  of  antique  Roman  I  For  verily  I  tell 
you  — and  I  tell  you  truth  —that  now  the  Lord's  good 
time  hath  come,  when  he  shall  choose  him  out  a  MAN  !  I 
say  not  whom -nor  were  it  meet  that  I,  the  vilest  and 
most  worthless  of  his  instruments,  should  judge  whom  the 
Lord  hsteth  .to  appoint  -  but  verily,  I  say,  a  MAN,  who 
shall  bring  mighty  things  to  pass  in  Israel  1 » 


OLIVER  CROMWELL. 
CHAPTER  IX. 


THE     GATHEBING     OF    THE     BTOEM 

ich  bred  it. 


Sends  the  hot  calm  which  bred  it. 


Am  «b,,  ~^c«'«      . 

from  the  midst  oi  battle  somewhat  turbulent 

With  the  exception  o  f  a  sb  ort  a  n  question, 

debate  on  the  day  f°llo^nS  "^f  the  Puritanic  leaders 
originating  in  a^nsh  on  *yg*f«  ^        ,     9  night, 

to  punish  those  wh(          pr  inflicted  on  one 

but  resulting  me^m  a  pena^ot^   ^^        ^^  ^ 

person,  '^?S1Sta5w  Carfare  against  the  crown. 
the  vigor  of  then  de  e"sl,-^    iUti        j  prevention  of  for- 


lier  measures.  Scotland,  was  received, 

The  king,  on  his  return  Jl^    ^      Jf  Sir  Richard 

chiefly  in  consequence  of/Then^an  active  and  uncom- 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM.  117 

This  loyal  and  well-timed  address,  reputed,  as  it  was, 
to  be  distasteful  in  no  small  degree  to  parliament,  was 
graciously  accepted ;  the  deputies  were  all  knighted,  and 
the  request  was  granted  joyfully.  The  bills,  moreover, 
most  obnoxious  to  the  king,  that  principally  which  would 
exclude  the  bishops'  votes,  made  but  slow  progress,  and, 
even  should  they  pass  the  commons,  were  not  expected 
to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  lords.  Falkland  and  Cole- 
pepper,  heretofore  active  members  of  the  reforming  party, 
although  moderate  and  wary,  now  having  taken  office 
openly,  the  former  being  secretary  of  state  in  lieu  of  Vane, 
the  latter  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  held  nightly  con 
ferences  at  the  house  of  Hyde  for  the  well  and  wisely  or 
dering  the  shaken  and  dismantled  principles  of  govern 
ment.  These  virtuous  men  and  unselfish  patriots  would, 
it  now  seems  probable,  have  met  with  eminent  success  in 
their  beneficent  and  patriotic  measures,  had  it  not  been 
for  secret  influences  and  the  prevalence  of  counsellors  be 
hind  the  throne,  unseen  and  unsuspected,  but  exercising, 
for  ends  most  infamous  and  selfish,  a  power,  to  which,  un 
happily  for  him  and  for  his  kingdom,  the  mind  of  Charles, 
easily  led,  and  prone  to  arbitrary  counsels,  though  obsti 
nate  and  inaccessible  to  anything  of  argument  unsuited  to 
his  own  opinions,  yielded  complete  obedience.  Such  was 
the  state  of  matters,  things  gradually  looking  brighter  and 
more  bright  for  the  royal  party,  and  the  remonstrant 
leaders,  Hampden  especially,  not  only  becoming  less  vio 
lent  in  their  opposition,  but  beginning  to  judge  more  fa 
vorably  of  the  king's  motives  and  intent,  when  the  insane 
and  childish  protest  of  the  bishops,  instigated  to  it  by  the 
proud  and  angry  Williams,  was  sent  forth,  declaring  "  all 
laws,  orders,  votes,  resolutions,  and  determinations  already 
passed,  or  such  as  shall  hereafter  pass,  during  their  ab 
sence  from  that  most  honorable  house,"  compulsory,  as 
they  affirmed  it,  "  null  and  of  none  effect."  The  conse 
quence  was  an  immediate  and  almost  unanimous  vote,  both 
of  the  lords  and  commons,  for  the  committal  of  the  pre 
lates  to  the  tower,  one  solitary  member  only  so  far  oppos 
ing  it,  as  to  declare  that  he  believed  them  utterly  insane, 
and  therefore  recommended  Bedlam,  rather  than  the  tow 
er,  as  a  fit  place  for  their  detention. 


118  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Then  came  reports  of  plots,  rumors  of  aggressions  medi 
tated  on  the  lower  house,  doubts,  and  despondencies,  and 
wrath,  and  panics !  It  was  believed  on  all  sides,  that, 
without  confident  assurance  of  support,  the  bishops  would 
not  have  dared  to  rush  to  such  extremities.  Petitions 
were  poured  in  from  every  quarter !  One  was  received 
from  the  city,  setting  forth  that,  since  their  loyal  congratu 
lations  on  his  majesty's  return  had  been  misconstrued  as 
though  they  would  disown  the  doings  of  the  parliament, 
they  now  declared  their  full  resolve  to  live  and  die  with 
them  for  the  good  of  the  commonwealth.  Addresses 
multiplied,  and  were  accompanied,  even  to  the  palace,  by 
such  crowds,  that,  in  a  message  to  the  common  council, 
the  king  complained  of  the  tumultuous  assemblages  daily 
increasing,  to  the  disturbance  of  his  palace  of  Whitehall. 

On  the  same  day  the  parliament  petitioned  him  to  grant 
to  them  a  guard,  commanded  by  the  Earl  of  Essex  —  that 
ordered  for  their  protection  during  his  absence  in  the 
north  having  been  instantly  disbanded  on  his  late  return — 
on  account  of  the  malignant  party  now  daring  openly  to 
threaten  them  with  violence.  To  this  request,  reasonable 
as  after  events  proved  it  to  have  been,  the  self-willed 
monarch  returned  a  negative,  though  offering  that  such  a 
guard  should  wait  on  them,  under  a  leader  of  his  own 
choice,  wholly  subservient  to  his  will,  "  as  he  would  be 
answerable  for  to  Almighty  God !  "  This  proposition  they 
of  course  declined,  perceiving,  doubtless,  that  the  guard 
so  ordered  would  be  more  like  to  militate  against  their 
liberties,  if  not  their  persons,  than  to  defend  them  from 
external  outrage.  It  was  upon  the  very  day  that  followed 
this  insidious  offer — for  such  it  must  be  deemed — that, 
urged  by  his  worst  counsellor,  the  false  and  faithless  Hen 
rietta,  to  that  most  rash  and  headlong  step  which  rendered 
his  affairs  forever  irretrievable,  and  reconciliation  with  his 
subjects  hopeless,  elated  still  by  his  reception  in  the  city, 
and  heedless  of  the  daily  proofs  of  public  feeling  and  opin 
ion,  he  went  on  to  commit  his  last  and  desperate  aggres 
sion  on  the  privilege  of  parliament.  By  that  aggression, 
had  they  tamely  borne  it,  his  throne  would  have  been  fixed 
forever  on  the  firm  basis  of  despotic  rule,  and  England 
would  have  lain  a  fettered  captive  at  his  tyrannous  foot- 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM.  119 

stool.  It  was  on  the  next  day,  while  the  protestation, 
that  he  would  be  answerable  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
safe-guarding  of  their  liberties  and  persons,  was  yet  fresh 
on  his  lips,  that  he  struck  that  blow  at  the  very  existence 
of  parliaments,  which,  had  it  fallen  as  intended,  must  have 
destroyed  them  root  and  branch.  For,  on  the  afternoon 
of  that  eventful  day,  Herbert,  the  king's  attorney-general, 
entered  the  house  of  peers,  then  sitting,  and,  producing  a 
paper  in  the  king's  own  writing,  read  it  aloud.  By  this 
the  Lord  Kimbolton,  present  there  and  then — and  of  the 
commons,  Denzil  Hollis,  and  Sir  Arthur  Hazlerig,  Pym, 
Strode,  and  Hampden,  stood  each  and  all  accused  of  trea 
son,  as  conspirators  against  the  king  and  constitution. 

The  peers  sat  actually  panic-stricken  and  aghast  at  this 
tremendous  stroke  of  folly  and  misgovernment,  hearing  in 
sullen  silence  the  grave  accusation,  while  Kimbolton, 
springing  to  his  feet,  with  eloquent  and  strenuous  indig 
nation,  professed  his  total  innocence;  nor  was  there  any 
lord  so  hardy  to  so  much  as  move  for  his  committal  on  hia 
majesty's  behalf.  Meanwhile  the  commons  house  was  en 
tered  by  the  king's  sergeant,  demanding  that  the  speak 
er  should  deliver  up  the  bodies  of  the  members  named 
above,  to  answer  to  a  charge  of  treason,  bearing  no  war 
rant  or  authority  from  magistrate  or  counsellor,  but  act 
ing  solely  at  the  king  s  behest,  and  without  intervention 
of  the  law. 

News  came  at  the  same  instant  that  the  private  lodg 
ings  of  those  members  had  been  visited  by  royal  messen 
gers,  their  trunks  and  studies  sealed  up,  and  their  papers 
violently  seized.  With  bold  and  masculine  resolve,  well 
suited  to  the  peril  of  the  crisis,  the  house  met  that  haughty 
and  high-handed  insolence  !  The  sergeant,  having  gone 
through  his  message,  was  desired  to  avoid  the  chamber ; 
but  word  was  sent  to  the  monarch  by  a  deputation,  assu 
ring  him  those  members  should  be  instantly  forthcoming 
so  soon  as  any  legal  charge  should  be  preferred  against 
them,  the  house  declaring,  by  a  powerful  vote,  those  vio 
lent  acts  of  seizure  breaches  of  privilege,  audacious,  and 
illegal ;  empowering  their  members  to  resist ;  calling  on 
all  men  to  abet  and  aid  them  in  resisting  such  attempts 
upon  their  liberties  as  freeborn  Britons  j  and  instantly 


120  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

adjourning,  for  the  night,  until  the  wonted  hour  on  the 
morrow. 

It  was  at  a  late  hour  in  the  evening  of  this  fatal  day 
that  several  ladies  of  the  court,  richly  and  splendidly  at 
tired,  might  have  been  seen  collected  in  a  proud  saloon, 
decked  with  the  master-pieces  of  Vandyke  and  Rubens, 
with  tapestries  of  Gobelins  and  Arras  hangings,  with  cabi 
nets  of  buhl  and  marquetry,  buffets  of  antique  golden 
plate  and  yet  more  costly  porcelain,  and  all  those  price 
less  luxuries  which  mark  a  royal  dwelling*.  Among  this 
glittering  group,  and  seemingly  its  principal,  was  one,  a 
lady  of  low,  slender  stature,  and  a  shape  slightly  awry, 
though,  by  skill  of  her  tire-woman,  this  defect  was  so  dis 
guised  as  to  be  scarce  perceptible.  Her  hands  were  deli 
cate,  and  gemmed,  as  were  her  ears,  her  neck,  the  bosom 
of  her  robe,  and  the  rich  volumes  of  her  jet-black  hair,  with 
Indian  brilliants.  Her  features  were  agreeable  and  spright 
ly,  yet  such  as  could  not  properly  be  praised  as  regular 
or  beautiful ;  a  pair  of  bright  black  eyes  and  a  coquettish 
smile  forming  their  chief  attraction.  Her  conversation, 
lively,  and  perhaps  even  brilliant,  though  flippant  and  un 
guarded,  was  listened  to  by  her  attendant  ladies,  and  by 
the  only  cavalier  admitted  to  the  presence,  a  man  of  noble 
bearing,  easy  yet  dignified,  and  withal  in  person  eminent 
ly  handsome,  with  an  attention  so  profound  that  it  deno 
ted,  even  without  the  bended  knee  and  the  averted  back, 
the  speaker  to  be  one  of  royal  rank.  Music  and  cards 
were  in  the  chamber,  and  a  most  lovely  girl,  of  some  sev 
enteen  or  eighteen  years,  was  dancing  to  the  amatory 
strains  of  some  concealed  musician,  in  a  style  which  would 
be  now  esteemed  far  too  voluptuous,  if  not  absolutely 
meretricious,  to  be  performed  by  the  chaste  limbs  of  la 
dies,  or  looked  upon  by  modest  eyes.  Yet  neither  lans 
quenet,  nor  the  soft  melody,  nor  the  exciting  graces  of 
the  beautiful  dancer,  appeared  sufficient  to  banish  some 
uneasiness  which  lowered  over  that  fair  company. 

The  brow  of  Henrietta,  for  she  it  was,  was  dark  and 
gloomy,  much  against  its  wont,  and  her  ill-humor  had 
been  so  far  contagious  as  to  aifect  her  bright  companions 
with  all  the  outward  signs  of  discontent  and  sorrow. 
While  she  was  talking  earnestly  to  the  Lord  Digby,  now 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM.  121 

— since  the  flight  of  Jermyn,  her  adulterous  paramour — 
her  most  beloved  and  trusty  counsellor,  a  short  and  hasty 
step  was  heard  without,  accompanied  by  a  slight  bustle,  as 
if  some  more  distinguished  personage  had  suddenly  and  by 
surprise  come  on  the  unexpectant  chamberlains  and  pages, 
sole  inmates  of  the  ante-chamber.  The  door  of  polished 
oak  flew  open,  and,  bearing  evident  marks  of  discompo 
sure  in  his  compressed  lips  and  overshadowed  brow,  a 
gentleman  of  graceful  presence  entered  the  apartment. 
Of  that  time  of  life  when  the  rashness  and  the  fire  of 
youth  are  tempered  by  the  sedateness  of  increasing  years, 
although  the  face  had  lost  110  trait  of  its  attraction,  nor 
the  limbs  of  their  alert  and  agile  motion,  Charles  Stuart 
—  for  the  new  coiner  was  no  other  —  was  of  a  middle 
height,  but  strong  and  well  proportioned,  excepting  that 
his  legs  were  triflingly  bowed  outward,  a  circumstance 
which,  Avhile  detracting  somewhat  from  the  grace  and 
symmetry  of  his  appearance,  was  favorable  more  than 
otherwise  to  his  accustomed  exercise  of  horsemanship  — 
to  which,  indeed,  it  might  have  been  in  some  sort  owing. 
His  visage,  of  a  just  and  oval  form,  was  pleasing,  although 
dark-complexioned ;  his  features  regular  and  comely,  with 
a  full  dark  eye ;  gentle,  and  somewhat  dull  in  its  expres 
sion,  unless  its  owner  were  aroused  to  sudden  anger, 
when  it  would  kindle  up  and  flash  as  brightly  as  the 
keenest ;  he  wore  mustaches,  somewhat  unusually  large 
and  curling  upward,  with  a  small  pointed  beard  of  that 
precise  and  formal  cut  which  is  so  often  met  with  in  the 
portraits  of  Vandyke.  The  most  remarkable  trait,  how 
ever,  of  his  whole  appearance,  was  that  continual  cloud 
of  mild  and  softened  melancholy  from  which  his  dignified 
and  stately  aspect  rarely  or  never  brightened ;  for,  even 
when  he  smiled,  it  was  a  faint  and  transient  flash,  scarce 
clearing  up  the  gloom  of  that  accustomed  sadness  which 
brooded  over  his  countenance  —  although  his  disposition 
was  cheerful  more  than  otherwise,  and,  if  not  buoyant, 
certainly  neither  mournful  nor  despondent  —  and  which, 
as  fanciful  and  superstitious  men  have  oftentimes  ima 
gined,  is  ominous  of  an  untimely  end.  His  dress,  of  plain 
black  velvet,  slashed  and  lined  with  satin,  differed  in  no 
thing — save  that  upon  the  left  side  of  his  cloak  glittered 
F 


122  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  diamond  star  belonging  to  the  order  of  the  garter — • 
from  the  garb  of  any  private  gentleman.  He  wore  his 
hat  above  yi  sable  hair,  long-curled  and  flowing,  and  in 
his  hand  he  carried  a  strong  cane  or  ferule,  with  a  crutch 
head  of  gold,  which  he  struck  passionately  upon  the  car 
pet  as  he  entered. 

"  The  uridutifuL,  disloyal  varlets ! "  he  exclaimed,  in 
tones  of  strong  excitement.  "  The  false,  rebellious  knaves ! 
—  to  deal  thus  with  their  sovereign !  "  —  and  for  several 
moments  he  paced  to  and  fro  the  room,  regardless  of  the 
eager  entreaties  of  his  affrighted  wife  to  speak  the  cause 
of  his  distemperature. 

"  A  message ! "  he  burst  forth  at  length,  but  in  a 
voice  broken  and  faltering  with  passion.  "  To  me  !  to 
me  a  message !  I  tell  you,  Marie,  an'  they  have  their 
will,  I  may  indeed  be  called  your  majesty  —  be  served 
upon  the  knee — be  waited  on  bareheaded — but  I  shall  be 
no  more  a  king  —  nay,  ten  times  less  the  master  even  of 
myself,  than  the  most  lowly  gentleman  in  all  my  wide  do 
minions.  But  so  shall  it  not  be! — No!  Never! — nev 
er  ! "  and  in  a  few  disjointed  sentences  he  told  her  how 
he  had  demanded  of  the  parliament  the  bodies  of  six 
members,  on  a  charge  of  treason  against  himself  and  them 
— and  had  received,  not  prompt  obedience  to  his  orders, 
but  a  message ! 

"  And  is  it  possible,"  she  cried,  artful  and  evil  woman 
that  she  was,  in  feigned  astonishment  and  indignation  — 
"  and  is  it  possible,  my  lord,  that  you,  you,  heir  to  such  a 
line  of  mighty  sovereigns,  you,  monarch  of  Great  Britain 
—  will  be  thus  braved  and  thwarted,  will  be  controlled, 
defied,  and  trampled  on  by  such  a  scum  of  low  and  scurvy 
fellows  as  this  parliament  ?  That  you  will  brook  to  have 
your  crown  robbed  of  its  brightest  jewels  of  prerogative, 
your  sceptre  wrested  from  your  hands  without  one  strug 
gle  ?  Would,  wretched  princess  that  I  am,  oh,  would  to 
God  that  I  had  tarried  in  my  own  glorious  France,  or 
that  I  had  been  wedded  to  a  MAN  !  " 

"  Madam,  go  to !  "  the  king  retorted  sharply  —  for,  all 
uxorious  as  he  was,  and  prone  to  hold  her  slightest  words 
as  mandates  to  his  will,  his  temper,  naturally  hasty  and 
unpliant,  was  aggravated  now,  even  beyond  its  wont,  by 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM.  123 

the  commingled  influence  of  anger  and  irresolution.  "  Be 
silent,  and  dare  not  impugn  our  energy  and  courage. 
England  and  you  shall  know,  and  that  right  speedily,  that 
neither  will  Charles  Stuart  brook  insolence  at  home,  nor 
usurpation  of  his  rights  abroad !  And  for  these  rash 
and  reckless  rogues !  they  too  shall  learn  that  I  am  yet  a 
king ! » 

"  Well  said !  —  well  said,  my  gracious  sovereign !  "  ex 
claimed  Digby,  with  an  exulting  voice  and  an  elated  eye. 
"Better  to  crush  at  once  this  spawn  of  venomous  and  vi 
cious  serpents  in  the  dark  den  wherein  they  have  engen 
dered,  than  one  by  one  to  scotch  them,  when  they  shall 
have  crawled  forth  to  pollute  the  blessed  daylight,  and 
swelled  from  grovelling  reptiles  to  the  full  growth  of  ram 
pant  dragons ! " 

"  In  this,"  cried  Henrietta,  "  in  this  most  noble  wrath, 
again  I  recognize  the  worthiest,  the  most  high-souled  of 
men !  To-morrow  shalt  thou  pull  these  vile  rogues  by 
the  ears  from  out  their  infamous  cabal !  Else  never  look 
me  in  the  face  again  !  " 

"  Brave  girl,"  replied  the  facile  king,  rueing  already  his 
late  burst  of  anger,  "  Brave,  brave  Marie,  and  beautiful 
as  brave ! "  and,  throwing  one  arm  round  her  waist,  he 
led  her  to  a  sofa  at  the  farthest  end  of  the  saloon,  where, 
seating  himself  at  her  side,  he  hung,  with  all  the  manifest 
and  ardent  passion  of  a  boy-lover  over  the  wily  Delilah, 
who,  prodigal  in  secret  to  another  than  himself  of  her  vo 
luptuous  charms,  had  yet  the  perfidy,  and  with  it  too  the 
power,  to  woo  him,  by  a  scanty  and  reluctant  show  of 
public  fondness,  to  measures,  her  only  interest  in  which 
was  to  bring  back  a  banished  lover  to  her  guilty  arms, 
how  ruinous  soever  they  might  be,  she  recked  not,  to  her 
too  trusting  husband. 


124  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    KING     AND     THE     COMMONS. 

There  is  a  bondage  worse,  far  worse  to  bear 

Than  his  who  breathes,  by  roof  and  floor  and  wall 

Pent  in,  a  tyrant's  solitary  thrall ; 

T  is  he  who  walks  about  in  the  open  air, 

One  of  a  nation  who,  henceforth,  must  wear 

Their  fetters  in  their  soul. 

WOEDSWOKTII. — Sonnets  to  Liberty. 

DURING  the  first  part  of  the  night  which  followed  this 
aggression  of  the  monarch,  the  city  was  all  tumult  and 
confusion ;  men  running  to  and  fro,  in  crowds  or  singly, 
conversing  eagerly  with  white  and  panic-stricken  visages, 
women,  increasing,  with  their  shrill  and  anxious  voices, 
the  wild  din,  and  children,  long  hours  past  the  wonted 
time  when  they  should  have  been  sleeping  peacefully  in 
their  warm  chambers,  wandering  to  and  fro,  with  looks 
of  frightened  and  inquiring  wonder  cast  upward  toward 
the  agitated  features  of  their  parents.  But  the  necessity 
of  rest  will  conquer  even  the  quickest  and  most  moving 
causes  of  excitement ;  and  ere  the  stars  began  to  pale  in 
the  cold,  frosty  sky,  the  thoroughfares  of  the  metropolis 
were  quiet  and  deserted  as  though  no  turbulence  of  party 
strife  had  ever  interrupted  their  security  and  silence. 
The  morning  broke  in  its  due  season,  and  the  only  thing 
observable  in  the  demeanor  of  the  groups  who  gradually 
filled  the  streets,  passing  this  way  or  that,  as  men  en 
gaged  in  their  accustomed  avocations,  in  their  pursuits 
of  profit  or  of  pleasure,  was  an  air  of  general  and  perva 
ding  sternness,  not  merely  gloom,  but  resolute  and  dark 
determination.  There  was  no  light  or  trifling  conver 
sation  ;  no  jests ;  no  laughter.  Whatever  of  discourse 
seemed  absolutely  needful  was  couched  in  brief,  pithy 
sentences,  and  uttered  in  a  tone  not  Puritanic  nor  morose, 
but  sad,  and  at  the  same  time  full  of  energy,  grave  and 
severe,  and  well-nigh  awful  in  its  character.  Then,  as 
the  day  advanced,  the  members  of  the  lower  house  might 
be  seen  hurrying  toward  St.  Stephen's,  some  mounted, 


THE  KItfG  AND  THE  COMMONS.  125 

some  on  foot,  but  all  accompanied  by  at  least  one  re 
tainer;  and  these  were  greeted  severally  by  the  multi 
tude  with  shouts  of  approbation,  or  with  groans  of  cen 
sure  and  reviling,  accordingly  as  they  were  known  for 
men  of  popular  or  loyal  principles. 

Meanwhile,  in  a  small  chamber  of  the  palace  at  White 
hall,  richly  adorned  with  painted  walls  and  splendid  oaken 
carvings,  and  overlooking,  from  its  lofty  casements,  the 
street  through  which  the  crowds  were  flowing  toward 
the  parliament,  sat  Henrietta,  with  a  single  lady,  and  a 
page  awaiting,  near  the  door  of  the  apartment,  the  pleas 
ure  of  his  royal  mistress.  A  frame  tilled  with  embroid 
ery  stood  before  her,  at  which  it  seemed  she  had  but 
recently  been  occupied ;  though  now  she  held  a  vol 
ume  of  some  French  romance,  from  which,  however,  her 
eyes  glanced  so  often  toward  the  windows,  attracted  by 
the  mingled  clamors  of  applause  and  hatred,  rising  at 
times  even  until  they  penetrated  her  reluctant  ears,  as  to 
denote  that  little  of  her  mind  was  given  to  the  wild,  witty 
author  who  apparently  engaged  her.  Her  eyes  were  full 
of  bright  and  keen  excitement ;  a  hectic  flush  glowed  in 
a  spot  of  vivid  crimson  high  up  on  either  cheek,  and  her 
hands  trembled  with  a  visible  and  nervous  agitation. 
Her  conversation,  also,  if  the  light  and  frivolous  sen 
tences  that  fell  from  her  lips  at  intervals  merited  such  a 
title,  was  broken,  interrupted,  and  evidently  embarrassed 
by  some  internal  conflict  which  she  hesitated  to  disclose. 
For  a  considerable  time  she  struggled  to  maintain  a  sem 
blance  of  composure;  but,  as  the  hours  passed  onward, 
her  trepidation  became  more  and  more  apparent.  At 
every  step  that  sounded  in  the  long  corridors,  at  every 
closing  of  a  distant  door,  she  started ;  and  once  or  twice, 
when  the  rattle  of  a  carriage  or  the  clatter  of  a  horse's 
hoofs  appeared  to  cease  before  the  gates,  she  actually  hur 
ried  to  the  balcony  and  gazed  abroad  into  the  town,  ex 
posing  herself,  as  if  unwittingly,  to  the  rude  stare  of  the 
transient  multitudes,  who  failed  to  greet  her  with  the 
smallest  tokens  of  affection  or  respect.  Twice  or  thrice, 
ere  the  bells  chimed  ten,  the  page  in  waiting  was  dis 
patched  to  learn  whether  no  tidings  had  arrived  from 
parliament ;  and  each  time  he  returned  'the  bearer  of  a 


126  OLIVER  CROMWELL 

negative,  a  peevish  exclamation  of  disgust  escaped  her, 
not  unnoticed  by  the  lady  who  attended  on  her  privacy. 
At  length,  peal  after  peal,  the  steeples  rang  forth  ten,  and 
then,  with  an  exulting  smile,  as  though  she  could  contain 
herself  no  longer  —  "Rejoice!"  she  cried,  in  high,  tri 
umphant  tones — "Rejoice,  my  Carlisle — for  ere  now  the 
king  is  master  in  his  states  —  ay  1  and  his  enemies  are  all 
in  custody  1 " 

"  His  enemies,  your  grace  ?  "  exclaimed  the  patriotic 
lady,  to  whom,  with  indiscretion  equalled  only  by  that  of 
the  rash,  doting  husband  whom  she  thus  betrayed,  she  had 
divulged  her  secret — "  His  enemies  ?  " 

"  His  enemies,  said  I  ?  "  returned  the  queen,  in  accents 
sharper  than  before.  "  In  truth,  then,  I  spake  wrongly  I 
His  traitors,  rather  I  His  false,  rebellious,  and  blood 
thirsty  traitors— by  God's  help,  now*  his  captives — Hamp- 
den,  and  Pym,  and  all  their  rabble  rout !  " 

And,  as  she  spoke,  sweeping  across  the  room  with  such 
a  port  as  would  have  well  beseemed  a  Britomart  striding 
upon  the  prostrate  necks  of  Romans,  in  their  turn  sub 
dued  and  humbled,  and  entering  again  the  balcony,  she 
cast  a  wistful  glance  down  the  long  avenue.  But  scarcely 
had  she  turned  her  back  before  the  high-born  lady  whom 
she  had  addressed,  hastily  tore  a  leaf  from  out  her  tab 
lets,  traced  on  it  some  half  dozen  words,  and  pleading, 
on  the  queen's  return,  some  casual  indisposition,  quietly 
left  the  chamber.  Ten  minutes  had  not  wrell  elapsed  ere 
she  reentered  it ;  nor  would  the  change  in  her  demeanor 
have  escaped  the  close  and  subtle  watchfulness  of  her 
imperial  mistress,  had  not  that  royal  lady  been  herself 
perturbed  too  deeply  to  investigate  the  mood  of  others. 
The  Countess  of  Carlisle's  features,  cast  in  the  purest 
and  calmest  mould  of  conscious  aristocracy,  had  worn 
throughout  the  morning  an  expression  of  grave  feminine 
anxiety,  and  her  broad  placid  eye  had  followed,  with  a 
quiet  yet  observing  scrutiny,  every  unwonted  move 
ment,  every  nervous  start,  and  every  change  of  color  that 
had  resulted  from  the  queen's  excitement ;  nor  had  she 
tardily  discovered  that  some  dreadful  crisis  was  at  hand ; 
though  what  that  crisis  was,  not  having  been  a  party  to 
the  councils  of  the  regal  circle  on  the  previous  night,  she 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  127 

might  not  even  guess.  The  thoughtless  words,  however, 
of  the  light-minded  Henrietta  had  given  her  at  once  the 
clew,  which  her  quick  apprehension  followed,  as  it  were, 
intuitively  through  all  its  labyrinth ;  and  she  at  once 
availed  herself  of  the  discovery  she  had  made  with  a  de 
gree  of  cool  and  present  courage,  that,  even  in  that  age 
of  prompt  and  daring  action,  failed  not  to  wake  the  ad 
miration  which  it  merited. 

Now,  however,  when  the  hardening  excitement  had 
passed  over,  when  the  nerves,  which  had  been  strung  so 
tensely  to  the  performance  of  her  duty,  were  no  longer 
kept  in  play,  when  she  knew  that  her  trusty  messenger 
was  on  his  way,  and  past  the  palace  gates  already,  bear 
ing  the  tidings  of  approaching  insult,  outrage,  and  peril, 
to  the  liberties  of  England's  parliament,  the  majesty  of 
England's  laws,  she  for  the  first  time  trembled,  not  for 
herself,  but  for  her  country.  She,  for  the  first  time,  be 
gan  to  fear  that  she  might  be  too  late,  and  that  the  blow 
might  have  already  fallen,  ere  her  warning  should  arouse 
the  destined  victims  to  perception  of  their  danger.  Her 
face  was  paler  than  its  wont,  and  her  blue  eye,  so  tran 
quil  in  its  usual  expression,  was  slightly  anxious.  Yet  it 
was  but  a  little  while  that  her  uncertainty  continued ; 
for,  ere  an  hour  had  elapsed,  the  queen,  whose  passions 
became  more  and  more  enkindled  with  every  moment  of 
suspense,  sending  another  messenger  to  learn  whether  the 
houses  were  in  session  still,  received  for  answer  that  they 
had  just  adjourned  until  one  of  the  clock,  and  that  the 
members  even  now  were  passing  to  their  lodgings. 

"  Heavens !  "  cried  Henrietta,  almost  in  despair  at  this 
unpleasing  and  most  unexpected  news — "Just  Heavens! 
can  it  be  that  he  hath  failed  me  ! "  and  casting  herself 
down  at  length  upon  a  couch,  covered  her  head  with  a 
thick  veil,  and  waited,  in  an  agonized  and  speechless  fit 
of  mingled  hope  and  terror,  the  result  of  her  intriguing 
machinations. 

In  the  meantime  the  house,  which  had  assembled  at  the 
usual  hour,  not  altogether  unexpectant  of  some  farther 
outrage  on  its  privileges,  had  indeed,  on  receiving  the 
well-timed  announcement  from  the  Countess  of  Carlisle, 
instant  voted  an  adjournment,  that  it  might  bet- 


128  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ter  concert  plans  of  resistance  to  that  lawless  violence 
which  it  was  now  too  well  assured  the  sovereign  had  re 
solved  to  perpetrate.  It  was  at  this  moment,  when  all 
were  hastening  homeward,  that  Arden  observed  Crom 
well  hurrying  to  and  fro  among  the  leading  favorers  both 
of  the  popular  and  Puritanic  principles,  and  whispering  to 
one  a  word  or  two,  then  passing  to  another ;  and,  as  he 
gazed  upon  his  compressed  lip,  and  eye  flashing  with  al 
most  savage  pleasure,  he  felt,  even  more  strongly  than  at 
any  prior  moment,  the  conviction  that  this  wily  person 
was  indeed  engaged  more  intimately  in  directing  the  im 
portant  springs  of  party  action,  than  could  have  been  sup 
posed  from  the  inferior  part  which  he  was  wont  to  play 
in  its  ostensible  and  open  movements.  He  knew  not  at 
the  time,  any  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  house,  what 
were  the  secret  news  which  had  so  suddenly  produced 
adjournment ;  and  had,  indeed,  himself  voted  against  a 
measure  which  he  could  not  comprehend,  although  the 
private  hints  of  Oliver  and  Hampden  had  not  escaped  his 
notice ;  nor  could  he  now  conceive  the  meaning  of  the 
strong  excitement  which  kindled  all  who  listened  to  the 
words  of  Cromwell,  as  it  were,  with  an  electric  spark. 
Not  long,  however,  was  he  destined  to  remain  in  igno 
rance;  for,  with  his  harsh  features  even  more  than 
commonly  inflamed  and  ruddy,  the  Puritan  approached 
him. 

"  Ha !  "  he  said,  in  a  loud,  sharp  whisper — "  Ha !  Mas 
ter  Arden ;  how  is  this,  that  you,  to  whom  we  confidently 
looked  for  succor,  should,  in  this  strait  and  peril,  have 
turned  against  us,  consorting  with  the  men  of  Belial  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,  Master  Cromwell,"  Arden  replied  —  "I 
know  not,  in  good  truth,  to  what  you  allude ;  nor  have  I 
heard  of  any  strait  or  peril.  I  saw,  indeed,  that  you  and 
Master  Hampden  were  desirous  I  should  vote  for  this  ad 
journment  ;  but  seeing  no  cause  wherefore,  nor  being,  so 
far  as  I  knew  it,  your  follower  or  pledged  supporter,  as 
suredly  I  deemed  it  best  for  mine  own  honor  to  abide  by 
the  poor  dictates  of  mine  own  opinion." 

"  Call  it  you  then  no  strait,"  asked  Oliver,  with  a  dark 
sneer  upon  his  lip,  "  no  strait  nor  peril,  that  Charles  Stu 
art  should  dare  come  hither  with  his  accursed  cavaliers, 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  129 

with  his  lewd  yeomen  and  rakehelly  pensioners,  seeking 
out  whom  they  may  devour,  having  their  swords  new- 
whetted,  and  their  hearts  a-fire,  to  shed  the  blood  of  the 
saints;  should  dare  come  hither,  hither,  within  these 
privileged,  tune-honored  wails,  to  lay  his  violent,  tyran 
nical  hands  on  those  with  whose  salt  only  we  are  sa 
vored  ?  " 

"  What  mean  you,  sir  ?  speak  out ! "  cried  Arden. 
"  Will  he  indeed  do  this  ?  Can  he  be  so  infatuated  —  so 
insane  ?  " 

"  Will  Charles  Stuart  dare  it  ?  "  said  the  other ;  "  say 
rather  what  he  will  not  dare,  if  we,  the  watchers  and  the 
guardians  sitting  on  the  tower,  yea !  on  the  house-top,  to 
give  note  of  coining  woe,  blow  not  the  trumpet  through 
the  land.  Yea !  will  he  come,  and  that  right  shortly ! 
yea !  will  he  come,  and  if  our  hearts  be  not  the  stronger, 
and  our  arms  too,  if  need  there  be,  will  trample  down  the 
liberties  of  England  unto  everlasting !  " 

"  Never !  no,  never !  "  exclaimed  Edgar,  vehemently 
moved  —  "No,  never  shall  he  do  so!  never  while  I,  if 
none  beside,  have  sword  to  wield,  and  hand  with  which 
to  wield  it," 

"Ay !  is  it  so  ? "  returned  the  other,  his  whole  face 
blazing  out  with  a  triumphant  ecstacy  —  Ay  !  is  it 
so  ?  and  Avould  you  draw  the  carnal  sword,  if  it  were 
needed  ?  " 

"Would  I?"  cried  Arden,  "would  I  unsheath  the 
sword  to  guard  these  holy  walls  from  desecration  ? 
Would  I  uplift  my  arm  against  the  hireling  ministers  of 
lawless  and  despotic  violence  ? — ay,  were  those  ministers 
ten  thousand  sworded  spirits !  " 

"  Then  fare  thee  well,"  cried  Oliver,  "  then  fare  thee 
well,  and  hold  fast  to  thy  good  resolve,  while  I  go  wake 
tho  rest  to  a  like  sense ;  above  all,  be  thou  in  thy  place 
when  we  again  assemble,  and  then  call  thou  me  fool  and 
liar,  an'  thou  see  not  great  things !  " 

The  interval  passed  speedily  away,  consumed  in  wise 
and  seemly  preparation.  Notice  was  dispatched  to  the 
lord  mayor  and  corporation  of  the  threatened  danger ;  the 
citizens  were  all  admonished  to  stand  upon  their  guard  ; 
and  members  were  sent  down  to  the  Temple  and  the  Inns 
F*  9 


130  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  Court  to  warn  the  students  that  the  house  was  well 
aware  how  they  had  been  already  tampered  with  ;  and  to 
command  they  should  not  come,  on  any  plea,  to  West 
minster;  and,  ere  the  time  appointed,  the  house  was 
crowded.  Edgar  was  in  his  place  among  the  first ;  and 
as  he  saw  the  five  obnoxious  members  calmly  resume  their 
seats,  as  though  no  peril  threatened  them,  a  mingled  sen 
timent  of  admiration  and  regret  thrilled  to  his  heart  at 
the  idea,  that,  if  indeed  the  king,  with  his  wild,  dissolute 
attendants,  should  forcibly  attempt  to  seize  them,  they 
surely  would  resist,  and  but  too  probably  be  slaughtered 
on  the  very  spot  which  they  had  made  to  ring  so  often 
with  their  proud,  patriotic  eloquence. 

As  he  thus  thought,  a  new  impression  shot  with  the 
speed  of  light  into  his  mind — "If  they  be  absent — if  they 
be  absent  when  he  come  —  the  fearful  consequences  may 
be  perchance  averted,  which  otherwise  mast,  beyond 
doubt,  result  from  letting  loose  a  band  of  reckless  sol 
diery  to  rush  in,  sword  in  hand,  on  gentlemen  armed  like 
wise,  and  almost  unanimous  to  guard  their  liberties  with 
life."  And  on  the  instant  he  arose,  and  in  a  few  words, 
powerful  and  manly,  moved  that  the  house  should  grant 
permission  to  those  members  to  withdraw  themselves, 
lest  tumult,  and  perhaps  even  worse  than  tumult,  fall  of 
it.  "I  second  it,"  cried  Cromwell,  starting  to  his  feet  — 
"I  second  the  honorable  member's  motion.  Let  them 
withdraw  them  straightway  to  the  city  until  this  tyranny 
be  overpast." 

Without  a  single  voice  or  vote  dissentient,  the  ques 
tion  then  was  carried ;  and  the  house  gave  permission 
that  they  mi«-ht  retire;  and,  at  solicitation  from  their 
friends,  they  instantly  departed.  Scarce  had  the  hurry 
and  confusion  consequent  on  their  withdrawal  ceased,  ere 
a  dull,  trampling  noise  was  heard  without,  as  of  a  power 
ful  band  of  men ;  a  word  to  halt  was  given,  and  for  a 
while  the  sound  was  hushed,  the  members  sitting  stern 
and  silent  in  their  places,  disdaining  to  show  any  sign 
either  of  wrath  or  terror.  Again  the  sounds  were  heard 
ascending  the  great  staircase ;  and  now  the  clink  of  steel, 
as  the  broad  blades  of  partisan  or  halbert  clashed  to 
gether — and  now  a  shout,  "  Fall  on !  fall  on !  "  mixed 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  131 

with  the  shuffling  tramp  of  feet,  the  jingling  of  scabbards, 
and  all  the  bustle  that  accompanies  a  sudden  and  dis 
ordered  march.  Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  tumult ; 
the  lobby  was  already  filled,  to  judge  from  the  increasing 
clatter,  with  armed  intruders ;  and  now  the  din  of  ground 
ed  arms  rang  audibly  upon  the  ears  of  the  undaunted 
counsellors.  Then  for  the  first  time  was  a  show  of  passion 
manifested  among  the  younger  gentlemen ;  a  dozen,  at 
the  least,  impetuously  started  to  their  feet,  and  not  a  few 
grasped,  with  an  energy  that  proved  how  fearlessly  they 
would  have  used  them,  the  hilts  of  the  long  rapiers  which 
all  of  gentle  birth  at  that  time  carried. 

A  single  word,  however,  from  the  speaker  of  the  house, 
a  single  cry  of  order,  sufficed  to  bring  them  peacefully 
into  their  places.  But  there  they  sat,  with  eyes  that  ac 
tually  lightened  with  strong  indignation,  and  with  that 
fiery  aspect  of  the  gladiator,  which  marked  how  raptur 
ously  they  would  have  plunged  into  the  fiercest  conflict. 
At  this  instant  was  the  door  thrown  open,  and  a  messen 
ger  sent  in,  who  reverentially  enough  informed  the  house 
that  the  king  was  at  the  door,  and  that  the  speaker  was 
commanded  to  sit  still,  with  the  mace  lying  on  the  board 
before  him.  Still  not  one  word  was  spoken ;  not  a  whis 
per,  not  a  breath,  nor  murmur,  was  heard  through  that 
spacious  hall ;  and  every  man  sat  fast,  with  head  unmoved, 
and  eyes  fixed  sternly,  straight  before  him ;  as  if  they  did 
not  so  much  as  vouchsafe  to  cast  a  glance,  still  less  a 
thought,  toward  the  violator  of  their  rights.  Had  there 
been  aught  of  riot  or  confusion,  had  there  been  aught  of 
armed  and  passionate  resistance,  nay,  had  there  been  any 
fear,  or  doubt,  or  wavering,  it  then  had  been  an  easier 
task  for  the  misguided  king  to  carry  out  his  frantic  and 
destructive  purpose.  But  hard  it  is,  and  most  revolting 
to  all  human  feelings,  to  outrage  and  assault  where  there 
is  neither  terror  nor  resistance.  It  was  perhaps  a  minute 
after  the  messenger  retired,  before  anything  new  dis 
turbed  the  silence  that  prevailed  unbroken  beneath  the 
vaulted  roof,  a  minute,  fraught  with  the  thronged  sensa 
tions  of  unnumbered  years,  a  minute,  that  seemed  longer 
than  a  life  to  every  patriot  seated  there,  as  gravely  stead 
fast  as  those  senators  of  early  Rome,  who  waited  in  their 


132  OLIVER  CROMWELL, 

robes  of  dignity,  and  on  their  curule  chairs,  the  moment 
when  the  Gallic  horde  should  pour  out  on  their  white, 
unshrinking  heads  the  cups  of  massacre  and  vengeance. 

Then  came  a  quick,  irregular  tread,  that  readily  beto 
kened,  by  its  uncertain  tune,  the  irresolution  and  anxiety 
that  were  at  work  within  the  breast  of  him  who  was  ap 
proaching.  "  Enter  not,  any  of  ye,  on  your  lives  !  "  was 
uttered  in  the  harsh  voice  of  the  king,  before  his  person 
came  in  view — an  order  understood  by  all  who  heard,  as 
it  was  doubtless  meant  by  him  who  uttered  it,  to  be 
words,  empty  words,  and  spoken  for  effect.  Then,  lean 
ing  on  the  shoulder  of  the  palsgrave,  Charles  Stuart  ad 
vanced.  Those  who  stood  nearest  to  his  person  might 
have  seen  a  momentary  pause,  a  brief,  involuntary  hesita 
tion,  a  reluctance,  hardly,  perhaps,  acknowledged  to  him 
self,  to  cross  what  was  to  be  the  Rubicon  of  all  his  future 
fortunes ;  but  so  short  was  the  pause,  so  small  the  effort 
it  required  to  conquer  that  reluctance,  that  it  would  seem 
indeed  as  if — according  to  the  classic  proverb — destined 
already  to  destruction,  he  were  deserted  by  his  sanity  of 
intellect.  Perhaps  he  had  expected  fear  —  abject  and 
tame  submission  —  had  supposed  that  he  should  stride  in 
triumph,  unopposed,  and  sued  to  on  the  bended  knee, 
through  that  magnificent  assemblage.  Perhaps  he  had. 
expected  anger,  indignation,  and  defiance.  But  now,  as 
he  looked  up  those  lines  of  crowded  benches,  and  met  no 
glance  of  recognition,  encountered  no  full  front  either  of 
wrath  or  scorn,  but  caught  alone,  row  behind  row,  those 
stern  and  masculine  profiles,  composed,  severe,  and  pas 
sionless  —  profiles,  averted  less  in  resentment  than  in 
proud,  contemptuous  sorrow  —  his  wayward  spirit  for  a 
moment's  space  recoiled,  and  he  half  wished  the  perilous 
step  untaken. 

It  was  but  for  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  however,  that 
his  rash  mood  of  obstinacy  failed  him ;  for,  without  a 
quiver  of  his  nerves,  a  change  of  his  dark  features,  he 
strode  across  the  threshold,  about  a  pace  before  his  for 
eign  kinsman.  The  Earl  of  Roxborough,  a  tall  and  pow 
erful  man,  armed,  somewhat  more  than  commonly,  with 
a  long  military  sword  and  heavy  poniard  at  his  belt,  had 
followed  close  upon  his  master's  footsteps,  until  he  also 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  133 

stood  upon  the  threshold ;  he  crossed  it  not,  however, 
but  stood  there,  leaning  with  his  whole  weight  against 
the  door,  which  opened  outwardly,  so  that  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  any  from  within  the  house  to  close  it, 
his  right  hand  resting,  as  if  carelessly,  upon  the  pommel 
of  his  war-sword,  and  his  left  twirling,  with  a  gesture  of 
unbridled  insolence,  his  long  mustache ;  while  many  a 
fierce,  licentious  countenance  might  be  seen  glaring  from 
behind  him  on  the  conservators  of  their  country's  free 
dom  with  a  wild  and  wolfish  aspect  of  malignant  hatred. 
The  king  himself,  attired  as  usual  in  a  plain  garb  of  sable 
velvet,  wearing  no  weapon  but  an  ordinary  walking- 
sword,  and  carrying  in  his  right  hand,  together  with  his 
staff,  the  dark-plumed  beaver  which  he  had  doffed  on  en 
tering,  stalked  coolly  up  the  house,  the  palsgrave  follow 
ing  slowly,  and,  as  it  seemed,  with  a  half  timid  and  reluc 
tant  step.  Still  all  was  silence — silence  so  profound,  that, 
save  the  heavy  footsteps  of  the  monarch,  not  a  sound 
could  be  perceived,  unless  it  were  when  from  without 
some  weapon-clang  was  heard,  or  some  rude  threat  or 
grisly  imprecation  was  muttered  in  the  ante-chamber  by 
the  desperate  attendants  of  a  Lunsford  or  a  Digby.  The 
face  of  Charles,  grave  and  even  sorrowful  by  nature,  was 
something  paler  than  its  wont ;  but  with  that  sort  of  pale 
ness  which  conveys  no  thought  of  cowardice  or  trembling, 
but  of  resolve,  immovable  and  icy.  His  mouth  was  firmly 
closed,  but  not  compressed,  nor  showing  aught  of  effort. 
His  eye,  calm,  searching,  cold,  but  keen  and  hard  as  iron  ! 
His  nostrils  only  of  his  features  gave  token  of  emotion,  or 
of  any  feeling  hotter  than  determination  ;  for  it  was  dila 
ted,  wide,  and  slightly  quivering.  Yet  was  his  hand 
steady  as  the  columns  which  upheld  the  roof  above  him, 
and  his  stride,  now  that  he  stood  among  his  lieges,  how 
ever  it  had  been  irregular  and  hasty  ere  he  entered,  was 
measured,  long,  and  equal. 

As  he  advanced  along  the  floor,  he  turned  his  head 
from  side  to  side,  perusing,  with  deliberate  and  steady 
glance,  the  lineaments  of  every  member  whom  he  passed ; 
and  if  when  at  a  distance  not  one  eye  had  sought  him,  so 
when  he  now  stood  close  beside  them,  not  one  eye  avoid 
ed  him.  Each,  as  Charles  came  into  his  line  of  direct 


134  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

vision,  met  his  hard  gaze  with  an  unblenching  and  unlov 
ing  brow ;  for  not  one  man,  even  of  those  the  most  devo 
ted  to  his  will,  of  those  who  mould  have  served  him  at 
that  moment,  who  afterward  did  serve  him  with  their 
whole  hearts  and  lives,  but  was  disgusted,  angered,  full 
of  deep  sorrow,  almost  of  despair.  Little  there  was,  how 
ever,  of  the  stronger  and  more  stormy  passions  painted 
upon  the  brows  of  those  who  sat  thus  fearlessly,  braving 
the  temper  of  a  king  whose  wrath  was  no  less  lasting  and 
vindictive  than  it  was  hot  and  sudden.  The  expression 
that  prevailed  most  largely  was  of  mingled  aspect,  half 
pity,  half  defiance.  But  when  the  tyrant  —  for  that  ac 
tion,  if  that  only,  justified  the  title — approached  the  seat 
of  Cromwell,  perhaps  at  that  day  scarcely  known  by  name 
to  the  proud  sovereign,  and  his  glance  fell  upon  those 
grim,  ungainly  features,  then  Arden  witnessed  —  for  his 
eye  was  still  attracted,  why  he  knew  not,  Avith  a  strange 
sense  of  fascination  toward  the  Puritan — then  Arden  wit 
nessed  that  which  in  after  times  he  often  called  to  mind, 
and  never  without  awe  and  wonder,  a  dark  conflict — for 
such  it  might  indeed  be  termed — a  conflict  of  eye,  coun 
tenance,  and  bearing,  between  those  men  so  eminently 
thrown  together,  and  blended  in  their  spheres  of  good  or 
evil  action. 

The  glance  of  Charles,  when  first  it  fell  upon  the  coarse 
and  most  unpleasing  lineaments  of  Oliver,  was  instantly 
averted ;  but  averted  merely  as  men  ever  turn  the  eye 
away  from  objects  naturally  distasteful  and  unseemly.  At 
that  point  of  time  the  face  of  Cromwell  was  as  tranquil, 
as  immovable,  as  that  of  his  great  future  rival ;  but  the 
tranquillity  was  as  different,  as  is  the  stillness  of  a  hushed 
volcano  and  the  peaceful  calm  of  heaven.  The  swollen  and 
corded  veins  upon  the  temple,  the  eyebrows  lowered  and 
contorted,  the  balls  gleaming  beneath  them  with  a  fixed 
and  baleful  light,  the  nostril  rigidly  distended,  and  the  lips 
pressed  so  tightly  that  they  alone  of  his  whole  aspect  were 
of  a  livid  whiteness.  Ere  Edgar  had  the  time  to  think, 
had  there  been  any  matter  yet  for  thought,  the  eye  of 
Charles  stole  back,  half  timidly  as  it  appeared,  toward  that 
tiger-like  and  glaring  face.  Then,  as  it  met  the  sinister 
and  ominous  stare  of  fierce  defiance,  it  brightened  also, 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  135 

vivid,  and  keen,  and  with  a  falcon-like  and  noble  splendor. 
For  some  short  space  they  gazed,  those  two  undisciplined 
and  haughty  spirits,  into  each  other's  very  souls,  mutual 
ly,  as  it  seemed,  conscious  at  a  glance  of  irremediable 
and  desperate  hostility.  The  king's  look,  quiet,  although 
high  and  angry,  and  most  unutterably  proud.  Cromwell's, 
sarcastic,  bitter,  furious,  and  determined,  and  withal  so 
savagely  triumphant,  so  mirthful  in  its  dire  malignity,  that 
Arden  thought  he  never  had  beheld  a  countenance  so  fiend 
ishly  expressive.  And  Charles  Stuart's  aspect,  after  a 
fixed  encounter  of  ten  seconds'  space,  Charles  Stuart's 
haughty  aspect  quailed  beneath  it ;  and,  as  he  passed 
along  —  for  the  whole  occurred  in  less  time  than  were 
needful  to  recite  it  —  he  gazed  no  more  around  him,  but 
went  directly  onward,  looking  gloomily,  upon  the  ground, 
toward  the  speaker's  chair. 

But  the  stern  democrat,  as  if  conscious  that  his  genius 
had  prevailed,  cast  his  eyes  round  him  with  an  air  of  loft 
ier  and  more  sublimated  feeling  than  Edgar  had  as  yet 
observed  him  wear.  It  was  a  trifle  at  the  period  when  it 
passed,  and  none  but  he  noticed  or  recorded  it ;  but  after 
times  and  after  deeds  stamped  it,  no  more  to  be  erased, 
upon  the  tablets  of  his  inmost  soul.  Meanwhile  the  king 
had  reached  the  chair ;  and  Lenthall,  the  bold  speaker, 
who  had  hitherto  sat  still,  as  proud  and  far  more  placid 
than  his  visitor,  arose,  and  stepped  out  stately  and  cold  to 
meet  him.  Then  the  king  mounted  to  his  place,  and 
stood  upon  the  step,  but  spake  not,  nor  sat  down ;  and 
there  he  stood,  gloomily  gazing  on  the  house,  with  a  dark 
look  of  sullen  anger,  for  many  minutes  ;  and  after  he  had 
looked  a  great  while,  "Gentlemen,"  he  said,  in  a  high 
voice,  clearly  audible,  though  neither  musical  nor  pleasing, 
to  the  most  distant  corner, 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Commons,  I  am  sorry  for  this  my 
cause  of  coming  to  you.  Yesterday  I  did  send  a  sergeant 
to  demand  some,  wrho,  by  my  order,  were  accused  of  trea 
son.  Instead  of  prompt  obedience,  I  received  —  a  mes 
sage  !  "  and  he  uttered  the  last  word  with  the  most  con 
centrated  scorn  and  insolence !  "  I  must,  then,  here  de 
clare  to  you,  that  though  no  king  that  ever  was  in  Eng 
land  could  be  more  careful  of  your  privileges  than  I  have 


136  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

been  —  and  shall  be  —  yet,  I  can  tell  yon,  treason  hath  no 
privilege !  and  therefore  am  I  come  to  tell  you  that  I  must 
have  these  men,  and  will,  wherever  I  may  find  them!" 
And,  as  he  spoke,  he  looked  around  the  hall  with  a  de 
liberate  air,  scanning  the  faces  of  all  present,  if  he  might 
find  his  men  ;  then,  raising  his  voice  higher  yet,  he  called 
aloud,  till  the  roof  rang  again  —  "  Ho  !  I  say,  Master  Hol- 
lis! — Master  Pym  !"  No  answer  wras  returned,  nor  any 
sound ;  save  an  increased  and  angry  tumult  in  the  lobby, 
with  a  brandishing  of  partisans  and  a  producing  of  con 
cealed  but  ready  pistols,  so  that  some  members  thought 
to  see  the  soldiers  instantly  rush  into  the  chamber.  Af 
ter  a  little  pause,  finding  he  got  no  answer,  he  turned  to  the 
speaker — "Say,"  he  exclaimed — "say,  Mr.  Speaker,  be 
any  of  these  men  here  present  ?"  For  a  moment  Len- 
thall  paused,  as  doubting  whether  to  hurl  his  own  defiance 
and  that  of  the  assembled  commons  into  his  very  teeth  ; 
but,  ere  the  echoes  of  the  monarch's  voice  had  ceased,  he 
had  resolved  upon  the  wiser  and  more  prudent  part,  and 
bending,  with  most  deferential  courtesy,  his  knee  —  "I 
have,  sir,"  he  replied,  "neither  eyes  to  see,  nor  tongue  to 
speak  in  this  place,  save  as  this  house,  whose  servant  I  am 
sworn,  shall  order  me.  And  therefore  must  I  pray  your 
majesty  to  pardon  me  that  I  return  no  farther  answer !  " 
"  Ha !  sir,"  returned  Charles,  sharply,  and  with  incipient 
fury;  but  a  moment's  thought  convinced  him  that  the 
humble  answer  of  the  speaker  defied  at  once  and  ren 
dered  hopeless  any  charge  or  violence  against  him.  "  Ha ! 
sir,"  again  he  said,  but  in  a  milder  tone,  "  I  do  believe  my 
eyes  are  to  the  full  as  good  as  yours,  and  I  do  see  my 
birds  are  flown  ;  but  this  I  tell  you,  and  so  look  ye  to  it  — 
I  hold  this  house  to  send  them  to  me !  Failing  of  which, 
I  shall  myself  go  seek  them !  For,  sirs,  their  treason 
is  most  foul,  and  such  as  you  shall  thank  me,  all  of  you, 
now  to  discover.  And  I  assure  you,  on  a  king's  word  I 
assure  you,  I  never  did  mean  any  violence,  and  they  shall 
have  fair  trial ;  I  meant  not  any  other ! "  He  waited  not 
for  farther  words ;  perchance  he  doubted  what  reply  he 
might  receive  to  this  last  false  asseveration,  palpably,  un 
questionably  false ;  for  wherefore  brought  he  his  disbanded 
soldiery,  his  rude  and  ruffian  bravoes,  with  rapier,  parti- 


THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.  137 

san,  and  pistol,  into  the  very  precincts  of  the  house  ? 
Wherefore,  unless  he  had  designed  to  hale  the  accused 
members  violently  forth  by  the  strong  arm  of  tyrannous 
authority  ? 

Stepping  down  from  the  chair,  he  walked,  uncovered 
still,  but  at  a  quicker  pace  than  that  with  which  he  en 
tered,  toward  the  lobby ;  but  now,  as  he  departed,  his 
looks  were  not  turned  haughtily  from  side  to  side,  but 
sadly  bent  upon  the  floor ;  nor  was  his  passage  silent  as 
before — for  member  after  member  started  up  as  Charles 
went  past  him,  with  bent  brow  and  clinched  hand ;  and 
groans  both  loud  and  deep  saluted  him.  As  he  came  nigh 
the  seat  of  Cromwell,  the  king  raised  his  visage,  haggard 
now  and  pale,  as  if  with  an  anxious  curiosity  to  look  upon 
the  man  before  whose  eye  he  felt  himself  to  have  recoiled; 
and,  as  he  met  it,  Oliver  sprang  upon  his  feet,  his  long 
tuck  rattling  in  the  scabbard  as  he  rose,  and,  stamping  on 
the  floor  with  fury,  shouted  aloud,  in  tones  not  mild  nor 
measured,  the  word  "  Privilege  !  "  A  dozen  voices  took 
it  up,  though  not  so  loudly  nor  with  .so  marked  defiance 
as  the  first  daring  speaker,  and  the  whole  house  was  in 
the  wildest  and  most  uncontrolled  confusion. 

Delightedly  would  the  despotic  prince,  had  he  but 
dared  it,  at  that  moment  have  cried  ON  !  have  given  the 
word,  expected  by  his  myrmidons,  for  massacre  and 
havoc,  have  bid  the  swords,  which  were  already  thirsting 
in  their  scabbards,  leap  forth  and  drink  their  fill  of  that 
most  noble  blood  of  England. 

But,  thanks  to  Heaven,  he  dared  not !  There  would  have 
been  no  object  worthy  of  the  risk ;  no  gain  to  justify  the 
detestation  he  would  have  so  heaped  upon  his  head  !  He 
did  not  dare  ;  and  therefore,  smothering  for  the  time  his 
virulent  and  vengeful  fury,  he  departed.  The  door  rang 
heavily  behind  him ;  and  with  no  muttered  curses  on  the 
head  of  him  who  lacked  the  spirit  to  perform  what  he 
and  they  yearned  equally  to  execute,  frustrate  of  their 
desired  vengeance,  unsatisfied  and  balked,  his  hireling 
desperadoes  filed  out  from  the  venerable  walls  their  pres 
ence  had  so  shamefully  polluted. 


138  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  XL 


A     FUGITIVE     KING. 

"  lie  hath  gone  forth  I 
Not  with  the  gorgeous  majesty  sublime 
Of  marshalled  hosts,  nor  with  the  brazen  din 
Of  trumps  sonorous,  but  heart-sick  and  sad, 
Despairing  and  dishonored!     lie  hath  gone, 
Gone,  that  his  place  shall  never  know  him  more, 
Cursed  of  his  people,  outcast  from  his  throne, 
A  dim,  discrowned  king !  " 

THE  night  fell  dark,  ominous  of  the  times,  and  tem 
pestuous  withal.  The  winds  wailed  mournfully  at  inter 
vals,  at  intervals  shrieked  out  with  savage  fury ;  and  as 
the  giant  clouds  were  driven  reelingly  across  the  firma 
ment,  blotting  the  faint  light  of  the  winking  stars,  fierce 
bursts  of  hail  and  rain  came  dashing  to  the  earth,  and 
ceased  as  suddenly  as  they  commenced.  And  ever  and 
anon  the  thunder  growled  remotely,  but  with  a  sullen 
rolling  that  seemed  almost  continuous,  such  was  the  length 
arid  frequency  of  the  strong  peals ;  and  lightnings  flashed 
on  every  side  of  heaven,  now  in  broad,  quivering  sheets  of 
ghastly  light,  that  transiently  displayed  the  ragged  edges 
of  each  fleeting  storm-cloud  in  distinct  relief,  and  now  in 
wavy  lines  of  most  intense  and  vivid  fire,  rushing  athwart 
the  wrack  from  zenith  to  horizon.  Yet,  turbulent  as  was 
the  night  above  the  city,  and  ominous  as  showed  the 
gathering  of  the  elements,  still  more  alarming  was  the 
turbulence  that  reigned  in  the  full  streets,  and  more  por 
tentous  the  concourse  of  the  armed  and  angry  citizens. 
The  train-bands  had  been  mustered  in  the  early  evening, 
with  harquebus  and  pike,  their  lighted  matches  gleaming 
on  all  sides  through  the  murky  darkness,  and  the  heavy 
trampling  of  their  companions  everywhere  audible,  as 
they  marched  to  and  fro,  vainly  desirous  to  allay  the  tu 
mult  which  had  arisen  instantly  on  the  arrival  of  the  ac 
cused  members,  seeking  protection  in  the  guarded  pre 
cincts  of  the  city.  From  sunset  until  dawn  the  mayor 


A  FUGITIVE  KING.  139 

patrolled  the  streets  with  his  assistant  magistrates,  vainly 
endeavoring  to  quell  the  terrified  and  savage  populace, 
with  whom  each  court  and  alley,  from  the  purlieus  of 
Alsatia  quite  to  the  Tower,  was  blockaded  and  be 
set,  all  armed  as  chance  had  ordered  it,  some  with 
the  perfect  implements  of  modern  warfare,  others  with 
weapons  obsolete  and  strange,  brown-bills,  and  glaives, 
and  maces. 

Chains  were  made  fast  athwart  the  most  frequented 
avenues;  and  barricades  of  stone  and  timber,  heaped 
rudely  but  effectively  together,  above  which  yawned  the 
mouth  of  many  a  ponderous  cannon,  would  have  pre 
sented  no  small  obstacles  to  any  who  should  dare  invade 
the  sacred  limits  of  the  city.  Huge  bonfires  blazed  in 
every  quarter,  torches  and  flambeaux  streamed  and  wa 
vered  in  each  gust  of  wind,  casting  a  singular  and  ruddy 
glare  upon  the  pallid  faces  and  unusual  weapons  of  the 
unwashed  artisans  who  formed  the  bulk  of  the  assem 
blage  ;  though  they  were  mingled  here  and  there  with 
grave  and  well-attired  burghers,  their  morions  and  gor 
gets  wildly  at  variance  with  their  civic  garbs  and  golden 
chains,  with  young  and  ruffling  templars,  to  whom  aught 
savoring  frolic  or  of  fight  was  most  congenial,  and  with 
sad-visaged  and  morose  soldadoes,  in  suits  of  buff,  tar 
nished  and  soiled  by  service,  girded  with  broad-swords 
of  unwieldy  length,  fresh  from  the  German  wars  or  the 
Low  Countries,  then,  as  in  every  age,  the  battle  field  of 
Europe — all  keeping  up,  throughout  the  livelong  night,  a 
dissonance  of  tongues  as  loud  and  jarring  as  ever  rent  the 
air  around  the  heaven-defying  Babel. 

At  times  a  sudden  panic  would  run  through  the  crowd, 
none  knowing  whom  to  trust  or  whom  to  flee,  a  cry 
would  ring  above  the  mingled  din — "  The  cavaliers !  The 
cavaliers !  Fly !  Fly !  The  king  and  his  wild  cavaliers  are  up 
to  fire  the  city!"  and,  without  waiting  to  inquire  or  to 
hear,  the  mob  would  rush  they  knew  not  whither,  tram 
pling  the  aged  and  the  feeble  under  foot,  and  turning  of 
tentimes  the  very  weapons  they  had  belted  on  to  guard 
their  liberties  against  each  other  in  the  blind  and  reeling 
rout.  And  now,  with  words  of  fire  and  gestures  of  defi 
ance,  some  bolder  spirit  would  brave  the  panic-stricken 


140  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

throng,  and  rally  it  and  lead  it  back,  with  brandished 
arms  and  inflamed  features,  to  meet  the  foemen  who  ex 
isted  only  in  their  imaginations,  maddened  with  terror  and 
excitement. 

Nor  was  the  pariic  and  confusion  slighter  within  the 
royal  palace.  Between  the  hapless  king  and  his  perfidious 
consort,  distrust,  recrimination,  wrath,  followed  by  feigned 
repentance  on  the  one  hand,  uxorious  pardon  on  the  other. 
Among  the  counsellors,  dismay  and  doubt,  high  words, 
and  mutual  reproaches,  and  all  the  vehement  disorder  that 
ensues  on  the  adoption  and  discomfiture  of  evil  counsels. 
Digby  and  Lunsford  wearied  Charles,  faint-hearted  now 
and  dubious,  for  permission  to  assail  the  city  gates,  and 
drag  the  impeached  traitors  forth  from  their  stronghold 
at  point  of  partisan  and  pike.  Others  deplored  the 
rash  steps  already  taken,  and  protested  against  far 
ther  violence.  And  some,  the  nobler  and  more  upright 
spirits,  Falkland  and  Hyde,  and  their  associates,  held 
themselves  aloof  in  deep,  resentful  sorrow,  that  all  their 
wisdom  had  been  wasted,  and  themselves  distrusted  and 
deceived. 

Never  a  longer  night  was  followed  by  a  sadder  morn 
ing  ;  for,  although  daylight  calmed  the  terror  and  the  tu 
mult,  it  allayed  nothing  of  the  concentrated  wrath,  di 
minished  nothing  of  the  jealous  apprehensions  entertained 
by  either  party.  After  a  short  debate,  the  parliament, 
both  lords  and  commons,  adjourned  for  several  days,  ap 
pointing  a  committee  to  sit  constantly,  mornings  and  af 
ternoons,  at  Merchants'  Hall,  within  the  city  walls,  where 
they  might  be  secure  from  farther  outrage,  and  free  to 
devise  means  for  vindication  of  their  members,  and  safe 
guard  of  their  violated  rights.  Edgar,  informed  of  the 
commotions,  and  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  city,  called 
for  his  horse  the  moment  after  the  adjournment,  and, 
with  some  six  or  seven  followers,  well  mounted  and 
equipped,  rode  up  the  Strand — a  scattered  street  at  that 
day,  occupied  by  the  suburban  dwellings  of  the  rich  and 
noble,  with  terraced  gardens  sloping  downward  to  the 
Thames — full  of  calm  resolution,  and  intending  instantly 
to  volunteer  his  aid  for  putting  down  the  riots,  and  estab 
lishing  some  governance  of  law.  When  he  reached  Tern- 


A  FUGITIVE  KING.  141 

pie-Bar  the  gates  were  closed  with  bolt  and  chain,  a  pow 
erful  band  of  musketeers,  with  gun  and  bandoleers,  man 
ning  its  loops,  and  mustering  at  every  window  that  over 
looked  the  area  before  it. 

But,  at  announcement  of  his  quality  and  name,  the  bolts 
were  drawn,  the  heavy  leaves  unfolded,  and  he  entered 
amid  presented  arms  and  muttered  greetings  of  the  sen 
tinels.  With  a  pleased  eye  he  saw  at  once  that  order 
was  restored  ;  suspicion  still  prevailed,  and  vigilance,  but 
tumult  and  confusion  had  given  way  to  wise  and  watch 
ful  regulation.  The  shops  were  shut,  and  business  was 
suspended,  it  is  true,  and  all  men  who  went  forth  wore 
weapons  ;  but  the  train-bands  patrolled  the  streets,  with 
magistrates  at  the  head  of  every  company,  no  less  to  en 
force  internal  quiet  than  to  resist  external  force.  Scarce 
had  he  ridden  twenty  yards  within  the  gate  ere  a  fresh 
summons  roused  the  wardens,  and  a  king's  messenger,  af 
ter  some  parley,  was  admitted,  and  conducted  by  a  file 
of  infantry  to  hearing  of  the  aldermen,  then  sitting  at  the 
Guildhall.  The  business  on  which  Arden  came  directing 
him  to  the  same  quarter,  and  strong  anxiety  to  learn  the 
future  movements  of  the  court  still  farther  prompting 
him,  he  at  once  wheeled  to  the  rear  of  this  small  band, 
and,  passing  onward  with  them,  was  ushered  in  without 
delay  to  the  mayor's  presence,  and,  hi  consideration  of 
his  place  in  parliament,  accommodated  with  a  seat  whence 
he  might  witness  the  proceedings  of  the  day,  and  lend 
his  counsel,  if  need  were,  to  these,  the  magnates  of  the 
city.  To  his  astonishment,  as  to  that,  indeed,  of  all,  the 
messenger  announced  that  his  majesty  was  already  enter 
ing  his  coach  to  wait  upon  the  mayor,  when  he  had  left 
Whitehall ;  and  that  he  prayed  that  dignitary  to  call  a 
common  council  on  the  instant.  Sir  Richard  Gourney, 
the  then  holder  of  that  office,  although  inclined  not 
slightly  to  the  principles  of  the  decided  royalists,  dis 
claiming,  as  did  all  the  wiser  of  the  party,  any  partici 
pation  in,  or  knowledge  of,  a  course  which,  now  that  it 
had  failed,  they  all  professed  to  disapprove,  was  careful 
to  display  no  symptom  of  subserviency.  Perhaps,  in 
deed,  he  truly  felt  that  wrong  had  been  committed,  and 
was  sincere,  as  he  was  evidently  faithful  to  his  trust,  in 


142  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  determination  to  maintain  inviolate  the  privileges  of 
which  he  was  the  guardian.  The  council  was  at  the  time 
in  session,  and  scarcely  had  the  messenger  withdrawn  be 
fore  the  king  arrived,  not  with  the  armed  and  dissolute 
attendants  who  had  convoyed  him  to  the  halls  of  parlia 
ment,  but  with  some  two  or  three  lords  only,  and  those 
of  the  most  moderate  among  his  partisans.  The  shouts 
that  ran  like  wild-lire  along  the  crowded  streets,  mingled 
with  groans  and  yells,  the  cries,  "  Privilege !  Privilege  of 
parliament !  "  announced  his  presence  at  the  doors  of  the 
Guildhall  before  he  had  alighted  from  his  coach,  and 
clearly  proved  the  temper  of  the  now  thoroughly  aroused 
and  fearless  multitude.  While,  as  a  token  of  the  perfect 
mastery  of  the  law  even  at  that  moment  of  tremendous 
and  well-nigh  unparalleled  excitement,  a  daring  pamphlet- 
writer,  who  had  thrown  into  the  monarch's  coach  a  pa 
per,  bearing  inscribed  the  scriptural  watchword,  "To 
your  tents,  O  Israel !  "  was  instantly  committed  for  con 
tempt.  The  city  dignitaries  rose  indeed  from  their  seats 
on  the  king's  entrance ;  they  tendered  to  him  all,  all,  to 
the  most  minute  particulars,  that  was  his  due  of  rever- 
ance  and  ceremonial  greeting ;  but  there  was  no  heart-in 
spired  applause,  no  loyal  spirit-stirring  cry,  "  God  save 
the  king !  "  no  smile,  no  welcome !  Strange  it  may 
seem,  yet  he  had  hoped,  indeed,  infatuated  man,  that  he 
should  now  succeed  in  gaining  the  authorities  to  yield 
their  honored  guests  to  his  demand ;  and  so  commenced 
what  he  esteemed  a  mild,  conciliatory  harangue,  requi 
ring  their  surrender,  full  of  false  statements  of  his  vener 
ation  and  regard,  in  all  past  time,  for  England's  laws  and 
liberties,  of  his  affection  for  the  Protestant  religion, 
of  his  enforcement  of  the  penal  statutes  against  the 
dreaded  Papists,  and  no  less  full  of  promises,  unmean 
ing,  insincere,  and  empty,  concerning  his  intentions  for 
the  future. 

A  little  applause  and  no  obedience  followed  !  Baffled 
a  second  time,  and  yet  more  deeply  mortified,  he  left  the 
Guildhall ;  but,  desirous  still  of  pleasing,  and  imagining, 
short-sighted  and  deluded  prince,  that,  by  a  slender  show 
of  condescension,  he  could  efface  the  recollection  of  so 
many  arbitrary  acts  against  the  corporate  and  individual 


A  FUGITIVE  KING.  143 

interests  of  the  city,  he  vouchsafed  to  one,  the  worse  af 
fected  toward  his  person,  of  the  sheriffs,  the  honor  of  di 
ning  at  his  house.  He  was  served,  together  with  his  ret 
inue,  with  more  than  courtly  luxury,  with  all  respect  and 
honor,  paid,  not  to  himself,  but  to  the  station  which  he  so 
ill  occupied,  but  with  no  semblance  of  that  glad  alacrity, 
that  honest  and  ungrudging  heart-service,  which  is  well 
worth  a  world  of  bended  knees  and  hollow  ceremonial. 
Late  in  the  evening,  harassed  in  spirit  and  fatigued  in  body, 
irritated  by  the  reproachful  hootings  of  the  multitude  that 
jarred,  at  every  instant  of  his  homeward  progress,  on 
his  reluctant  ear,  and  hopeless  now  of  compassing  his 
tyrannical  ends,  he  retired  to  his  palace,  there  to  give 
impotent  and  childish  vent  to  his  indignant  spleen,  by 
publishing  a  proclamation  against  all  men,  who  should 
presume  to  harbor  or  conceal  the  persons  whom  he  had 
previously  denounced  as  traitors. 

Days  passed  away ;  each  marked  by  some  bold  resolu 
tion  of  the  commons,  by  increased  tokens  of  the  deep 
respect  and  admiration  entertained  by  the  great  bulk  of 
the  metropolis  toward  the  vindicators  of  its  rights,  and 
by  some  weak  and  useless  aggravation  of  his  former 
measures  on  the  part  of  the  misguided  and  wife-governed 
monarch.  A  week  had  scantly  rolled  above  their  heads, 
before  the  house,  conscious  of  its  own  strength,  and 
knowing  the  entire  impotence  of  the  king's  party,  deter 
mined  to  bring  back  their  members  to  Westminister,  as 
being  men  against  whom  no  legitimate  or  constitutional 
charge  was  pending  ;  and  preparation  of  unwonted  splen 
dor  and  extent  was  made  for  reconducting  them  in  tri 
umph  to  their  seats. 

The  news  might  not  escape  the  ears  of  Charles,  bruited 
as  it  was  all  joyously  abroad  through  every  class  of  per 
sons,  and  pleasing  as  it  was  to  nearly  all ;  for  not  a  few, 
even  of  those  who  heretofore  had  backed  him  with  their 
voices  and  opinions  in  all  his  troubles,  and  who  in  after 
days  as  faithfully  assisted  him  with  life  and  fortune,  were 
not  entirely  sorry  for  the  occurrence  of  a  marked  reverse, 
which  might,  they  fondly  hoped,  avail  to  check  him  in  his 
inordinate  and  reckless  cravings,  cravings  which,  to  their 
own  eyes,  they  could  not  now  disguise  or  palliate,  for 


144  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

power,  unconstitutional  at  least,  if  not  tyrannical  and  ab 
solute.  Bitter,  most  bitter,  were  his  feelings,  as  he  went, 
ungreeted  by  one  loyal  acclamation,  his  absence  unla- 
mented  by  one  loyal  tear,  forth  from  the  palace  of  his 
fathers,  almost  alone  in  actual  fact,  but  absolutely  so  in 
sentiment ;  the  queen,  for  whose  sake  mainly  he  had  em 
broiled  himself  with  his  true-hearted  subjects,  ungrate 
fully  and  spitefully  upbraiding  him,  not  for  the  folly  of  his 
measures,  but  for  his  failure  in  their  execution ;  his  cour 
tiers,  who  had  urged  him  on  to  every  fresh  aggression, 
and  lauded  every  new  caprice,  now  silent  and  dejected  ; 
and  the  very  guards  who  rode  before  his  coach  dispirited 
and  crest-fallen. 

Bitter,  most  bitter,  were  his  feelings ;  but  it  was  not 
with  the  bitterness  of  manly  and  upright  repentance ;  not 
with  the  bitterness  upspringing  from  the  sense  of  wrong 
committed,  and  resulting  in  a  promise  of  amendment ;  but 
with  the  bitterness  of  discontent  and  disappointment,  of 
unholy  wishes  frustrated,  and  merited  reverses  sullenly 
remembered.  Such  were  the  feelings  of  that  bad  monarch 
and  unhappy  man  as  he  drove  forth,  that  so  he  might 
avoid  the  triumph  of  his  disaffected  subjects,  after  the 
shades  of  early  evening  had  already  gathered  dark  and 
cold  about  the  misty  streets,  toward  Hampton  Court,  vir 
tually  exiled  from  the  metropolis  of  his  oppressed  and 
groaning  country,  and  from  the  jeoparded,  dishonored 
throne  of  his  forefathers,  as  he  was,  forever,  from  the  hearts 
of  his  once  loving  subjects. 

But  the  sun  rose  upon  a  nobler  and  more  glorious  spec 
tacle,  a  spectacle  rife  with  great  blessings  for  the  present, 
and  brilliant  omens  for  the  future,  the  spectacle  of  a  vast 
people,  free  and  united,  victorious,  not  by  the  sword,  nor 
over  slain  and  mutilated  carcasses,  but  by  the  strength 
of  popular  opinion,  founded  on  the  broad  base  of  justice, 
animated  by  the  deathless  love  of  liberty,  and  directed  by 
such  a  knot  of  patriots  as  England  in  no  other  age  had 
witnessed.  On  came  the  fair  procession,  marshalled  by 
loud,  triumphant  music,  and  the  yet  louder  shouts  of  hon 
est  and  exulting  myriads  ;  gay  with  a  thousand  flags  and 
banners  flaunting  to  the  wintry  sun,  which  wore,  on  that 
proud  morning,  his  brightest  and  most  gorgeous  aspect ; 


A  FUGITIVE  KING.  145 

guarded  by  all  the  sober  strength  of  civil  discipline,  and 
all  the  orderly  and  bright  array  of  the  well-trained  militia 
of  the  city ;  not  fluttering,  indeed,  with  tasselled  scarfs  or 
many-colored  plumes,  but  well  equipped  with  morions  of 
steel,  polished  till  they  shone  out  like  silver,  and  stout 
buff-coats,  all  service-like  and  uniform,  with  their  puissant 
pikes  thick  as  a  grove  of  pines,  their  broad  heads  glinting 
back  the  sunbeams,  and  harquebusses  clearly  burnished  as 
when  they  left  the  armory.  Fifty  in  front  they  marched, 
in  close  and  serried  order,  striding  along  with  regular  and 
sturdy  steps,  rank  after  rank,  each  as  a  single  man,  with 
that  erect,  undaunted  bearing  which  belongs  only  to  the 
free ;  and  with  the  tranquil  eye  and  calm  though  proud 
expression  which  mark  the  disciplined,  law-loving  citizen, 
and  not  the  fierce,  unruly  democrat.  The  companies  were 
all  arrayed  beneath  the  civic  banners  of  their  respective 
wards,  and  headed  by  their  captains,  mounted  well  on 
strong  and  serviceable  chargers,  and  gallantly  equipped 
in  scarlet  cassocks  and  steel  corslets.  Behind  this  stately 
host,  preceded  by  the  bearers  of  his  mace  and  sword,  and 
all  the  glittering  insignia  of  city  pomp,  Sir  Richard  Gour- 
ney  rode  along,  curbing  a  splendid  courser,  whose  foot- 
cloth,  blazoned  with  rich  armorial  bearings,  almost  swept 
the  ground,  sorely,  as  it  would  seem,  against  his  will,  to 
slow  procession  pace.  Then,  two  and  two,  in  flowing 
robes  of  scarlet,  with  chains  of  gold  about  their  necks,  and 
tall  white  feathers  floating  above  their  velvet  bonnets,  the 
sheriffs  and  the  aldermen  advanced ;  and  then,  received 
by  acclamations  that  were  heard  for  many  a  mile  around, 
clad  in  their  ordinary  garbs,  and  wearing  in  their  grave 
demeanor  no  tokens  of  undue  importance  or  unfitting  ex 
ultation,  the  denounced  patriots  rode  steadily  along  ;  and, 
headed  by  their  speaker,  the  whole  house  of  commons  fol 
lowed.  No  banners  waved  above  them,  no  gorgeous 
dresses  pointed  them  for  public  admiration,  no  high  as 
sumption  called  the  eye  to  them,  yet  as  they  swept  slowly 
forward,  a  band  of  gentlemen,  mostly  of  noble,  all  of  re 
putable  birth,  chosen  for  worth  and  wisdom  to  be  the  dele 
gates  of  a  great  people,  of  a  people  the  most  manly,  and 
intelligent,  and  free  of  the  wide  universe,  they  could  not 
but  have  attracted  the  eye  and  fixed  the  untaught  admi- 
Q  10 


146  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ration  of  the  most  stolid  or  most  slavish ;  what  then  must 
they  have  done  when  they  were  passing  before  those 
whose  liberties  they  had  asserted  at  the  risk  of  all  that 
men  hold  dear  ? 

Close  trooping  in  the  rear  of  these  another  strong  bat 
talion  of  the  train-bands  marched,  several  brigades  of  field 
artillery,  huge,  cumbrous  iron  guns,  with  tumbrils  follow 
ing  and  matches  lighted,  rattled  and  groaned  over  the 
rugged   pavements,    and  a  long  train  of  well-appointed 
horse  of  each  denomination  then  in  use,  the  heavy  cuiras 
siers,  with  helmets,  breast  and  back  pieces,  poldrons  and 
taslets  of  bright  polished  steel,  bearing  long  two-edged 
broad-swords,  and  pistolets  with  barrels  full  two  feet  in 
length,  mounted  harquebusiers,  with  short  but  ponderous 
matchlocks  and  formidable  rapiers ;  lancers,  with  no  de 
fensive   arms   save  morion  and  gorget,  and  no  weapons 
save  their  spears  of  fifteen  feet  and  light  curved  sabres,  in 
imitation  of  the  Polish  horse,  already  celebrated  in  the 
German  wars,  a  splendid  cavalcade,  brought  up  the  rear. 
While  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  strong  men  and 
tottering  children,  matrons  and  hoary-headed  sires,  and 
maidens  delicate  and  tender,  the  vast  population  of  the 
city  and  its  suburbs  poured  out  to  meet  their  champions, 
hindering  their  progress  by  their  living  masses,  and  cling 
ing  even  to  the  horses  they  bestrode,  with  fervent  prayers 
and  blessings,  and  with  tears  of  holy  joy,  and  waving  ker 
chiefs,  and  exulting  shouts,  to  greet  the  people's  friends ; 
and  with  wild  curses  on  the  king  and  on  his  cavaliers,  con 
cerning  whom  they  oft  and  sneeringly  inquired,  "  Where 
be  they  now,  and  whither  have  they  fled  ?  " 

Meanwhile  adown  the  Thames  another  pomp  was  float 
ing,  toward  the  stairs  at  Westminster,  second,  if  second, 
only  to  the  landward  show.  Hundreds  of  lighters,  pin 
naces,  and  long-boats,  all  were  dressed  with  waistcloths 
and  with  streamers,  laden  with  musketry  and  ordnance, 
manned  by  a  host  of  British  mariners,  whose  meteor  flag 
even  then  "had  braved,  a  thousand  years,  the  battle  and 
the  breeze,"  furrowed  the  broad  and  placid  river ;  while 
ever  and  anon  the  salvos  of  their  cannon,  thundering  above 
the  din  and  clamors  of  the  mighty  concourse,  announced 
to  the  disheartened  monarch,  even  in  his  sad  retreat  at 


A  FUGITIVE   KING.  147 

Hampton,  the  failure  of  his  insolent  aggression,  and  the 
triumphant  testimony  borne  by  his  indignant  subjects  to 
the  untiring  eiforts  and  undaunted  resolution  of  those  no 
ble  spirits,  whom  his  oppressive  madness  had  converted, 
step  by  step,  from  the  most  steady  guardians  to  the  most 
constant  foemen  of  his  person  and  his  crown. 


OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


BOOK  n. 


Tbey  have  drawn  to  the  field 
Two  royal  armies,  full  of  fiery  youth;  • 

Of  equal  spirit  to  dare,  and  power  to  do: 
So  near  intrenched,  that  'tis  beyond  all  hope 
Of  human  counsel  they  can  e'er  be  severed, 
Until  it  be  determined  by  the  sword 
Who  hath  the  better  cause;  for  the  success 
Concludes  the  victor  innocent,  and  the  vanquished 
Most  miserably  guilty. 

MASSINGKB—  TTie  Dufa  of  Milan. 


BOOK    II. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A     PURITAN      HOUSE     REGIMENT. 

The  land  we  from  our  fathers  had  in  trust, 

And  to  our  children  will  transmit  or  die ; 

This  is  our  maxim,  this  our  piety; 

And  God  and  nature  say  that  it  is  just. 

That  which  we  would  perform  in  arms,  we  must 

WOKDSWOKTH. — Sonnets  to  Liberty. 

A  YEAR  had  passed  since  Arden's  landing  on  his  native 
shores,  unfixed  of  purpose,  and,  above  all,  an  advocate  for 
peace,  a  year  in  which  events  had  taken  place  that  ren 
dered  hopeless  all  accommodation  between  the  hostile  par 
ties,  until  one  should  have  been  proved  decidedly  superior. 
The  very  day  on  which  the  king  had  fled  from  London, 
lest  he  should  witness  the  return  of  the  five  members  to 
the  house,  having  been  signalized  by  a  most  wild  and  ill- 
digested  movement  of  the  fiery  Lunsford,  sufficiently  dis 
closed  the  intentions  of  the  royalists  in  an  attempt  to  seize 
a  magazine  of  arms  at  Kingston. 

Then  came  the  treachery  of  Goring ;  the  king's  fruit 
less  effort  against  Hull ;  the  calling  out  of  the  militia ;  the 
arming  on  both  sides;  and  all  the  small  guerrilla  skir 
mishes  that  were  occurring  daily  for  some  months  pre 
vious  to  the  nominal  commencement  of  the  war. 

The  queen,  who  had  escaped  to  Holland,  stealing  and 
bearing  with  her  the  crown  jewels,  which  were  pawned  at 
once  to  furnish  arms,  and  men,  and  money,  was  setting 
every  spring  in  motion  on  the  continent.  Rupert  and 
Maurice  had  arrived  in  England,  and  the  former  was,  on 
his  first  interview,  appointed  general  of  the  cavalry.  The 
royal  standard  had  been  raised,  some  two  months  past,  at 
Nottingham,  with  evil  omens,  and  under  auspices  the 
most  unfavorable,  a  mighty  tempest  having  poured  its 


152  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

fury  on  the  gathering  of  the  troops,  dispirited  and  few  in 
number,  and  unfurnished  with  the  most  evident  and  in 
dispensable  equipments  of  an  army,  weapons,  and  clothes, 
and  ammunition.  The  flag  itself,  displaying,  in  addition 
to  the  wonted  quarterings  of  England,  a  small  escutcheon, 
charged  with  the  royal  bearings  and  the  crown,  and  com 
passed  by  a  scroll,  with  the  scriptural  motto,  "  Render  his 
due  to  Cesar ! "  was  scarcely  elevated  ere  a  heavier  gust 
of  wind,  accompanied  with  floods  of  rain  and  a  fierce  crash 
of  thunder,  shivered  the  staff  in  twain,  and  dashed  the 
ensign  violently  to  the  ground ;  while  such  was  the  in 
creasing  fury  of  the  tempest  that  two  whole  days  elapsed 
before  it  could  be  reared  again.  Still,  although  by  this 
overt  act  the  king  had  most  unquestionably  issued  his  ap 
peal  to  the  sword  as  to  the  sole  remaining  arbiter,  matters 
went  on  but  heartlessly  and  slowly. 

Each  side,  averse  to  throw  away  the  scabbard,  paused 
in  grim  and  terrible  suspense,  irreconcilably  hostile  to  the 
other,  yet  unwilling  to  incur  the  blame  of  being  first  to 
strike,  or  foremost  to  refuse  accommodation.  The  royal 
forces,  far  too  weak  to  court  the  brunt  of  battle,  aimlessly 
marched  and  countermarched,  levying  contributions  in 
this  place,  and  mustering  volunteers  in  that ;  while  the 
superior  party  of  the  parliament,  already  strong  enough  to 
have  surprised  and  crushed  the  royalists  at  a  single  blow, 
lay  in  their  quarters,  waiting,  as  it  would  seem,  till  they 
should  muster  resolution  to  commence  hostilities.  The 
truth,  which  has  been  strangely  overlooked  by  all  histori 
ans  of  these  turbulent  and  most  important  times,  was 
simply  this ;  that,  in  the  outset  of  that  fearful  strife,  there 
was  but  little  difference  between  the  views,  and  hopes, 
and  fears  of  the  most  eminent  and  upright  men  of  either 
party.  How  it  should  ever  have  been  fancied,  much  less 
gravely  argued,  that  the  great  body  of  the  English  gentry 
and  nobility  were  anxious  to  subvert  the  constitution, 
which  had  been  freed  from  the  arbitrary  power  of  the 
Norman  princes  by  the  sole  efforts  of  their  order,  and  to 
erect  an  absolute  and  unchecked  despotism,  which  must 
have  necessarily  ruined  their  own  caste,  it  is  most  difficult, 
indeed,  to  comprehend  or  to  conjecture.  Nor  is  it  less 
absurd  to  hold  that  the  more  liberal  peers,  who,  neither 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  153 

few  in  number  nor  deficient  in  sagacity,  were  enlisted  on 
the  people's  side,  were  in  the  least  degree  prepared  to 
overthrow  that  ancient  monarchy  from  which  they  all  de 
rived  their  greatness,  and  to  descend  at  once  from  their 
exalted  grade  to  mere  equality  with  their  less  elevated 
countrymen. 

In  simple  fact,  the  leading  men  of  either  party  dreaded 
defeat  or  victory  with  a  nearly  equal  apprehension ;  know 
ing  that  such  an  overthrow  befalling  either  host,  as  should 
conclude  the  other  absolutely  masters  of  the  game,  would 
be  most  hopelessly  destructive  to  the  liberties  of  England. 
It  was  then  in  this  spirit  that  the  counsellors  of  Charles, 
scarcely  more  fearful  of  reverses  which  should  deliver 
them  a  prey  to  their  stern  foemen,  than  of  success  which 
would  inflame  and  aggravate  the  monarch's  native  haughti 
ness,  labored,  with  all  their  powers,  to  bring  about  some 
reconciliation ;  but  in  vain,  their  every  effort  being  frus 
trated  by  the  imbecile  insincerity  and  double-dealing  of 
their  principal.  At  length,  when  the  last  hopes  were 
quenched  of  peace  unbought  by  victory,  the  fiery  Rupert, 
who,  from  the  first  had  been  the  open  advocate  of  instant 
battle,  acting  with  indefatigable  and  almost  sleepless  en 
ergy,  collected  horses,  men,  and  cannon  from  the  north 
ern  and  the  midland  counties,  until  the  royal  army 
amounted  to  the  number  of  ten  thousand  —  three  foot 
brigades  under  Sir  Jacob  Astley,  and  the  Earl  of  Lind- 
sey,  an  officer  experienced  in  the  wars  of  the  Low  Coun 
tries,  three  dragoon  regiments,  to  act  as  horse  or  in 
fantry  as  need  might  be,  under  Sir  Arthur  Aston,  Lord 
Bernard  Stuart  commanding  the  king's  guards,  a  troupe 
dorte,  composed  entirely  of  gentlemen,  whose  annual  in 
comes  are  said  to  have  exceeded  the  united  fortunes  of 
all  the  members  who,  at  the  outbreaking  of  the  war,  were 
voters  in  both  houses,  a  good  park  of  artillery,  under  the 
trusty  Sir  John  Hey  don,  and  the  adventurous  prince  — 
himself  a  host — leading  the  cavalry,  consisting  of  the  very 
flower  of  the  youthful  gentry,  practiced  in  arms,  and  high 
in  chivalrous  and  daring  spirit. 

Then,  early  in  October,  having  resolved  to  strike  a 
blow,  and  anxious  to  give  battle  to  his  enemies,  the  king 
inarched  hastily  from  Shrewsbury  upon  the  capital. 
G* 


154  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Meantime,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  who  had  been  recently  ap 
pointed  by  the  parliament  their  general-in-chief,  left  the 
metropolis  with  an  array  some  fifteen  thousand  strong, 
more  thoroughly  equipped  and  better  armed  than  were 
the  gentlemen  of  the  opposing  host,  but  far  inferior  to 
them  in  that  sustaining  and  burning  spirit,  which  is  of 
more  avail  than  tenfold  numbers  hi  the  day  of  battle. 
The  earl's  instructions  were  to  tender  to  the  king  a  joint 
petition  of  the  houses,  beseeching  him  to  leave  the  gath 
ering  of  malignants,  whose  ill  counsels  had  so  far  pre 
vailed  to  alienate  him  from  his  loving  subjects,  and  to 
repair  at  once  to  the  vicinity  of  his  most  loyal  parliament ; 
and,  in  the  case  that  this  petition  should  prove  of  no  ef 
fect,  to  rescue  him,  by  force  of  arms,  from  the  foul  trai 
tors  who  surrounded  and  misled  him.  To  this  intent,  he 
was  provided  with  all  the  requisites  that  constitute  an 
army,  a  heavy  train  of  well-arranged  artillery,  with  am 
munition  and  supplies  of  all  kinds  in  profuse  abundance, 
a  powerful  brigade  of  horse,  under  the  Earl  of  Bedford 
and  Sir  William  Balfour  ;  and  a  picked  body  of  the  Lon 
don  train-bands,  well  disciplined  and  admirably  well  ap 
pointed. 

Among  the  numerous  nobles  who  accompanied  the 
general  of  the  parliament,  two,  perhaps,  merit  an  especial 
notice,  the  young  lords  Rochford  and  Fielding,  as  being 
destined  soon  to  meet,  as  foemen  in  the  shock  of  battle, 
their  own  fathers,  the  earls  of  Dover  and  of  Denbigh,  who 
were  enrolled  as  volunteers  in  the  king's  guard  of  horse. 
Many  there  were,  indeed,  in  this  array,  who  yielded  not 
in  spirit  or  in  valor  to  the  proudest  cavalier  of  Charles  ; 
many  who  panted  for  the  onset  with  all  the  patriotic  zeal 
of  freemen  trampled  and  oppressed,  with  all  the  bitter 
and  fanatic  rancor  of  religious  prejudice,  and  these  were 
more  than  matches  for  the  best  of  Rupert's  soldiery. 
But  many  more  were  doubtful,  and  reluctant,  and  affected 
by  the  cold  and  backward  spirit  of  their  leaders,  who  felt, 
perhaps,  a  secret  apprehension  that,  in  battling  for  the 
liberty  and  constitution  of  their  land,  they  might  in 
some  degree  be  warring  against  the  interests  of  their 
order. 

Such  was  the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  such  the  state  of 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  1 55 

parties,  when,  on  a  brilliant  morning  toward  the  last  days 
of  October,  a  gallant  regiment  of  horse  wound  its  way 
through  the  deep  green  lanes  and  devious  woodlands  of 
Northampton  toward  the  little  town  of  Keinton,  dis 
tant,  perhaps,  some  twenty  miles,  at  which  it  was  begin 
ning  to  be  understood  that  Essex  had  established  his 
headquarters.  An  animating  and  lively  spectacle  they 
formed,  as  they  gleamed  out  and  disappeared  among  the 
lofty  hedges  and  dense  coppices,  still  glorious  in  the  leafy 
garniture  of  variegated  autumn,  their  polished  armor 
glinting  back  the  cloudless  sunshine  in  long  and  dazzling 
flashes,  their  colors  fluttering  in  the  cheerful  breeze,  their 
videttes  warily  surveying  every  thicket,  the  matches  of 
their  harquebusses  ready  kindled,  and  their  extended 
lines  sweeping  along  the  irregular  wood-roads  in  serpen 
tine  and  wavy  order;  pausing  at  every  brook  or  dell 
where  they  might  possibly  be  set  upon  at  disadvantage, 
until  their  advanced  guard  should  fall  back  with  tidings 
that  their  path  was  unobstructed ;  and  varying  their  ar 
ray  from  open  file  to  solid  column,  as  the  nature  of  the 
ground  might  dictate.  The  leader  of  this  splendid  body 
was  a  fine-looking  figure,  in  the  prime  of  life,  well  formed 
and  stately,  and  far  above  the  ordinary  height  of  men. 
He  wore  a  military  coat  of  strong  buff  leather,  garnished 
with  fringe  of  tawny  silk  three  inches  broad,  and  loops  of 
golden  braid,  partially  covered  by  a  breast-plate  and  its 
corresponding  back-piece,  polished  till  they  shone  bright 
as  silver.  He  had  no  gorget,  but  a  rich  cravat  of  Flan 
ders  lace,  with  long,  transparent  ends,  half  veiling  the 
clear  steel  on  which  it  fell.  His  dark  curled  hair  flowed 
down  his  neck  beneath  the  rim  of  a  steel  cap  or  morion, 
exquisitely  damasked,  but  without  crest  or  feather ;  his 
hands  were  guarded  by  high  gauntlets,  and  his  lower 
limbs  by  breeches  of  the  same  material,  similarly  orna 
mented  with  his  cassock,  and  strong  jack-boots  that  would 
have  set  a  sabre-cut  at  naught.  His  sword,  a  two-edged, 
basket-hilted  rapier  of  uncommon  length,  hung  from  an 
orange-colored  scarf,  betokening  his  adherence  to  the 
parliament,  its  army  having  adopted  for  their  badge  that 
color  from  the  ancient  liveries  of  Essex,  as  the  cavaliers 
had  assumed  for  their  distinctive  uniform  black  feathers 


156  OLIVER  CROMWELL, 

and  blue  shoulder-knots  ;  although  the  fashion  of  his  gar 
ments  and  the  general  bearing  of  the  wearer  were  more 
in  character  with  the  demeanor  and  the  principles  of  their 
opponents,  than  of  those  stern  and  gloomy  fanatics  who 
are  so  generally  and  so  erroneously  believed  to  have  com 
posed  at  this  time  the  great  numerical  strength  of  the 
liberal,  or  to  speak  more  justly,  constitutional  party. 
The  animal  he  rode,  a  mare  of  splendid  action,  symme 
try,  and  size,  was  evidently  a  practiced  charger,  and  ac 
coutred,  as  became  one,  with  demipique  and  holsters,  and 
all  that  goes  to  the  equipment  of  a  war-horse.  In  these 
minutiae,  no  less  than  in  the  accurate  array  and  perfect 
discipline  of  the  tall,  hardy-looking  youths  who  rode 
along  behind  him  in  the  strictest  silence,  in  the  condition 
and  the  bitting  of  the  horses,  and,  above  all,  in  the  cool 
intelligence  with  which  he  listened  to  the  varying  reports 
of  his  subordinates,  the  quick,  decisive  firmness  which 
made  known,  and  the  prompt  energy  which  carried  out, 
his  orders,  might  be  discovered  at  a  glance  the  officer  of 
many  actions ;  the  soldier,  on  whose  mind  no  lesson  of 
experience  had  been  lost,  until  his  very  nature  was  no 
more  the  same ;  that  which  was  once  an  effort,  once  the 
result  of  intricate  and  thoughtful  calculation,  arising  now 
from  an  intuitive  foreknowledge,  more  like  the  wondrous 
instinct  of  an  animal  than  the  deep  reasoning  combina 
tions  of  a  man ! 

It  wanted,  perhaps,  an  hour  of  noon  when  this  detach 
ment,  having  extricated  itself,  without  so  much  as  hear 
ing  of  an  enemy,  from  the  wide  tracts  of  woodland,  por 
tions  of  which  may  still  be  seen  in  the  adjacent  counties 
of  Huntingdon  and  Bedford,  had  reached  the  summit  of 
a  considerable  eminence,  which,  falling  away  steeply  to 
ward  the  west,  commanded  an  extensive  view  over  the 
velvet  pastures  of  Northampton,  checkered  with  corn 
fields  and  dark  tracts  of  fallow  —  with  many  a  white 
washed  cottage  peering  from  out  the  foliage  of  its  orchards, 
and  many  a  village  steeple,  with  its  mossy  graves  and 
tufted  yew-trees,  and  here  and  there  some  castellated 
mansion,  scarce  seen  amid  its  shadowy  plantations  — 
stretching  away  till  they  were  bounded  far  to  westward 
by  the  blue  hills  of  Warwickshire.  Just  on  the  brow  of 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  157 

the  declivity  there  stood  a  large  and  isolated  farm,  with 
stabling  and  outhouses  sufficient  to  accommodate  a  hu  !* 
dred  head  of  cattle ;  upon  the  green  before  it  the  leader 
of  the  party  drew  his  bridle,  and,  after  a  quick  glance 
across  the  champaign  at  his  feet,  and  another  toward  the 
sun,  which  had  already  passed  its  height,  entering  the 
dwelling,  held  short  conversation  with  the  sturdy  yeo 
man  who  possessed  the  fertile  acres.  Before  five  minutes 
had  elapsed  he  issued  from  the  lowly  doorway,  ordering 
his  party  to  dismount  and  pile  their  arms,  and  take  what 
brief  refreshment  the  farmhouse  might  offer  during  an 
hour's  halt. 

A  hasty  bustle  followed,  as  down  the  troopers  sprang 
with  jingling  spur  and  scabbard,  and  merriment  sup 
pressed  no  longer  by  the  rigid  discipline  enforced  upon 
the  march.  ~No  oaths,  however,  or  profane  and  Godless 
clamors  were  heard,  disgracing  equally  the  officers  who 
tolerated  and  the  men  who  uttered  them.  Gayety  there 
was,  and  decent,  sober  mirth,  but  naught  of  boisterous, 
much  less  licentious  revelling.  Videttes  were  stationed 
on  commanding  points,  patrols  detailed,  and  then,  the 
horses  picketed  and  well  supplied  with  provender,  fires 
were  lighted,  and  canteens  produced  with  all  their  sa 
vory  stores ;  and  the  men,  stretched  at  length  on  the 
smooth  greensward,  chatted  and  laughed  as  gaily  over 
their  hurried  meal  as  though  they  were  engaged  in  some 
exciting  sylvan  exercise,  and  not  in  the  tremendous  toil 
of  warfare.  The  hour  allotted  for  their  stay  had  well- 
nigh  passed,  when,  from  their  farther  outpost,  a  horse 
man  galloped  in,  bloody  with  spurring,  and,  driving 
through  the  scattered  groups,  flung  his  rein  heedlessly 
upon  his  charger's  neck,  and  turned  him  loose  before  the 
door,  while,  with  an  air  betokening  the  consciousness  of 
bearing  high  and  stern  intelligence,  he  hastened  to  con 
vey  his  tidings  to  his  officer.  There  needed  not,  how 
ever,  words  to  tell  the  men  that  danger  was  at  hand.  A 
moment's  anxious  gaze  at  the  vidette,  and  the  jest  ceased, 
the  flagon  was  suspended  ere  it  reached  the  thirsty  lip, 
the  laugh  was  not  laughed  out.  Another  moment,  and 
the  fires  were  all  deserted ;  the  remnants  of  the  meal  laid 
hastily  aside ;  horses,  recruited  by  their  feed,  were  bri- 


158  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

died ;  swords  buckled  on,  and  helmets  braced,  and  fire 
arms  inspected  ;  and,  ere  their  leader  came  again  among 
them,  in  anxious  conversation  with  the  messenger,  they 
waited  to  mount  only  till  the  ready  trumpets  should 
sound  "  horse  and  away." 

"  Get  you  to  horse ! "  he  said,  "  get  you  to  horse  as 
silently  as  may  be !  But  spare  your  breath,"  he  added, 
turning  abruptly  to  the  bugler,  who  was  already  handling 
his  instrument,  "  till  it  be  needed  for  a  charge,  which,  anj 
we  be  so  lucky  as  I  deem  we  are,  it  may  be  —  and  right 
early.  Sir  Edmund  Winthrop,  get  your  men  into  line  as 
speedily  as  may  be ;  but  move  not  until  farther  signal ! 
My  charger,  Anderton ;  and  let  a  sergeant's  guard  mount 
instantly !  I  go  to  reconnoitre ;  a  bugler  with  the  party. 
Soh !  Steady,  men,  steady !  "  and,  without  farther  pause, 
he  leaped  into  his  saddle,  and,  followed  by  the  small  de 
tachment,  galloped  at  a  fierce  pace  down  the  hillside, 
rugged  and  broken  as  it  was,  in  company  with  the  patrol 
who  had  brought  in  the  tidings.  Close  to  the  bottom  of 
the  hill  whereon  the  troops  were  halting  there  ran  a  deep 
and  hollow  gorge,  cutting  across  the  road  which  they  had 
kept  thus  far  directly  at  right  angles,  and  screened  from 
observation  on  the  upper  side  by  a  long,  straggling  belt 
of  furze  and  underwood,  with  here  and  there  a  huge  and 
weather-beaten  oak  or  glossy  beech,  forming  the  outskirts 
of  a  heavy  mass  of  forest  that  fringed,  for  several  miles 
in  length,  the  extreme  left  of  the  level  country  across 
which  their  line  of  march  would  lead  them. 

Through  this  gorge,  as  the  sentinel  reported,  a  power 
ful  force  of  cavalry  was  moving  toward  the  causeway  at 
scarcely  two  miles  distance ;  but  whether  friends  or  foes 
he  might  not,  as  he  said,  determine.  Checking  his 
charger  at  the  junction  of  the  roads,  the  officer  dis 
mounted  ;  and,  taking  off  his  head-piece  lest  its  glitter 
should  betray  him,  stole  forward  through  the  trees  to  a 
high  sandstone  bluff  commanding  the  whole  gorge. 
From  this  he  instantly  discovered  the  approaching  troops, 
who  had  so  nearly  come  upon  him  unawares.  There 
were  at  least  five  hundred  horse  in  view,  all  cuirassiers 
completely  cased  in  steel,  escorting,  as  it  seemed,  a  strong 
brigade  of  field  artillery.  When  first  they  had  been  seen 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  159 

by  the  vidette,  they  were  emerging  from  the  forest-land 
alluded  to  before,  and  had  attempted,  as  he  said,  a  cross 
road  visible  from  the  hillside ;  but  it  had  proved  so  miry, 
as  he  judged  from  the  slow  progress  of  the  guns,  that 
they  had  countermarched,  and  were  advancing  steadily, 
as  now  beheld,  under  the  guidance  of  a  countryman  who 
rode  beside  their  leader,  toward  the  sandy  gorge  by 
which  they  evidently  hoped  to  gain  the  practicable 
road. 

Earnestly  did  the  wary  partisan  gaze  on  the  glittering 
columns,  searching  their  movements,  and  examining  their 
dress  and  arms  with  eager  scrutiny,  and  ever  and  anon 
sweeping  the  country  in  their  rear  with  an  inquiring 
glance,  that  seemingly  expected  farther  indications  from 
that  quarter.  But  it  was  all  in  vain !  The  regiment  in 
view  wore  neither  scarfs,  nor  any  badge  that  might  in 
form  him  of  their  politics  or  party ;  their  colors  were  all 
furled  around  the  staves  and  cased  in  oil-skin ;  and  all, 
from  which  he  might  in  anywise  conjecture  of  whether 
host  they  formed  a  portion,  was  the  exact  and  veteran 
discipline  their  movements  indicated;  far  too  exact,  as  he 
supposed  from  the  reports  prevailing  through  the  coun 
try,  for  the  tumultuary  levies  of  the  Puritans.  The  hol 
low  way  on  which  they  were  advancing  opened,  at  a 
mile's  distance,  on  the  plain,  and  it  appeared  that  the 
new-comers  were  about  to  enter  it  unthinking  of  surprise, 
and  confident,  perhaps,  in  their  own  power.  "  If  they  be 
foes,  we  have  them ! "  cried  the  partisan.  "  Back,  An- 
derton,  back  to  the  regiment,  ride  for  your  life  !  tell  Ma 
jor  Armstrong  to  lead  down  three  troops,  dismounted, 
with  their  harquebusses  ready,  and  their  matches  lighted, 
beneath  the  cover  of  yon  dingle  on  the  hillside  till  he 
shall  reach  this  gorge,  then  line  it  with  his  musketry. 
Let  Anstruther  wheel,  with  three  more,  about  yon  round- 
topped  hillock ;  in  half  an  hour  he  may  debouche  upon 
the  plain,  or  sooner,  if  he  hear  our  shot,  and  charge  upon 
the  rear  of  yon  horse-regiment ;  they  will  be  in  the  trap 
ere  then.  Sir  Edmund  Winthrop  wiU  lead  down  the  rest 
by  the  same  road  we  came  —  I  tarry  for  him  !  Away  ! 
Be  swift  and  silent!  Away!  for  more  than  life  is  on 
your  speed !  "  and,  at  the  word,  the  subaltern  dashed  fu- 


160  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

riously  away,  spurning  the  pebbles  high  into  the  air  at 
every  bound,  and  instantly  was  lost  to  sight  behind  the 
angle  of  the  sandy  banks,  while  he  who  had  commanded, 
after  another  wistful  gaze  toward  the  approaching  squad 
ron,  returned  with  leisurely  and  quiet  steps  to  his  good 
charger.  \Vith  his  own  hands  he  drew  the  girths  more 
tight,  looked  to  each  strap  and  buckle  of  his  rein  and  stir 
rups,  patted  her  arched  crest  with  a  fleeting  smile,  and 
mounting,  rode,  with  half  a  dozen  followers,  sharply 
along  the  gorge,  as  if  to  meet  the  strangers,  who  now 
seemed  disposed  to  pause  upon  the  plain,  and  recon- 
noiter,  ere  they  should  enter  a  defile  so  perilous  and 
narrow. 

Just  at  this  moment,  while  a  score  or  two  of  troopers 
rode  out  from  the  advanced  guard  of  the  horse,  which 
had  now  halted,  and  warily  dispersing  themselves  among 
the  broken  ground,  began  to  beat  the  thickets  with  de 
liberate  and  jealous  scrutiny,  a  low,  stern  hum  arose  from 
the  dark  corps  of  cuirassiers,  increasing  still  and  swelling 
on  the  ear,  till  it  was  clearly  audible  for  a  full  mile  around, 
a  burst  of  deep-toned,  manly  voices,  harsh  perhaps  in 
themselves,  and  tuneless,  but  harmonized  by  distance  and 
the  elastic  atmosphere  on  which  they  floated,  till  they 
were  blended  at  least  into  a  solemn  and  melodious  sound. 
Louder  they  rose,  and  louder  on  the  breeze,  and  now 
were  answered  by  a  faint  and  dream-like  echo  from  out 
the  dim  aisles  of  the  forest  in  their  rear,  among  the  leafy 
screens  of  which  the  arms  and  standards  of  another  and 
another  band  might  fitfully  be  seen  to  glitter.  It  was 
the  soul-inspiring  crash  of  sacred  music,  the  peal  of  choral 
voices  untaught  and  undirected,  save  by  the  impulse  of  a 
thousand  hearts  attuned  to  one  high  key  of  patriotic  pi 
ety,  unmixed  with  instruments  of  wind  or  string,  a  deep, 
sonorous  diapason,  the  soldier's  anthem  to  the  God  of 
battles  and  the  Lord  of  hosts ! 

"  Arise !  arise ! "  the  mighty  sound  went  forth,  its 
every  syllable  distinctly  audible  to  the  excited  listener : 

"  Arise  !  arise !  oh  God,  onr  God.  arise ! 
Ride  on  in  misrht,  in  terror,  and  renown — 
A  kindling  flame,  their  nobles  to  consume, 
A  two-edged  sword,  to  smite  their  princes  down  I 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  161 

"Thou  that  dost  break  the  arrows  and  the  bow, 
Thou  that  dost  knap  the  ashen  spear  in  sunder, 
Thou,  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  gav'st  the  horse  his  strength, 
And  clothed  the  volumes  of  his  neck  in  thunder, 

"Be  thou  our  rock,  our  fortress  of  defense, 
Our  horn  of  safety,  in  whose  strength  we  trust, 
So  shall  their  hosts  be  chaff  before  the  wind, 
So  shall  their  thousands  grovel  in  the  dust! 

"  So  shall  our  feet  be  crimson  with  their  blood, 
Their  tongues  our  dogs  shall  purple  with  the  same ; 
The  fowls  of  air  shall  have  them  for  a  spoil, 
Their  pride  a  hissing,  and  a  curse  their  name  ! 

"For  not  in  armor,  nor  the  winged  speed 
Of  chargers,  do  we  hope,  but  only  see, 
By  whose  great  aid  their  vauntings  to  outspeed, 
Most  Merciful— most  Mighty,  only  Thee ! " 

Scarce  had  the  first  sound  reached  the  leader's  ear,  be^ 
fore  he  checked  his  mare  abruptly — "Walters,"  he  cried 
at  once,  "  away  with  you,  and  overtake  him  ere  he  gain 
the  regiment.  These  be  no  enemies,  but  friends.  Let 
not  a  troop  descend  from  the  hillside ;  bid  them  await  me, 
as  they  be,  in  order !  Spare  not  your  spurs,  nor  fear  to 
spoil  your  horse-flesh  ;  we  have  no  time  to  lose !  I  well 
had  deemed,"  he  added,  muttering  to  himself,  after  the 
orderly  had  galloped  off  with  his  commands  —  "I  well 
had  deemed  their  rear  was  many  mile  advanced  past  this 
ere  now.  Pray  heaven  that  Essex  lack  not  men  to  hold 
the  king  in  check,  as  he  is  like  to  do,  if  that  this  news  be 
sooth  how  he  hath  gathered  head  toward  Keinton  and 
Edgehill ! "  and,  without  farther  words,  he  hastened 
down  the  road,  to  be,  as  soon  as  he  had  cleared  the  first 
projection  of  the  broken  banks,  discovered  by  the  re 
connoitring  party  in  advance.  A  dozen  carbines  were  pre 
sented  on  the  instant  at  a  short  range — "  Stand — ho  ! ' 

"  Friends  !  friends !  "  he  shouted,  in  reply,  but  without 
altering  his  pace,  "  can  you  not  see  our  colors  ?  "  waving 
his  orange  scarf  abroad,  as  he  closed  with  the  foremost 
trooper. 

"  Stand,  friend,  then  !  — if  that  friend  you  be  —  stand, 
friend,  and  give  the  word !  "  returned  the  other  gruffly, 
"  stand !  or  I  do  profess  that  I  will  shoot,  yea !  shoot  thee 
to  the  death !  " 

"  How  now,  thou  peevish  knave,"  replied  the  officer,  in 
high  and  ireful  tones.  "  Recover  instantly  thy  carbine, 

11 


162  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  carry  me  straight  unto  the  leader  of  yon  horse! 
Who  is  he  that  commands  them  ?  " 

For  a  moment's  space  the  grim  parliamentarian  stub 
bornly  gazed  upon  the  features  of  the  gallant  who  ad 
dressed  him,  as  if  reluctant  to  obey  his  mandate ;  but 
then  a  gleam  of  recognition  flashed  across  his  sunburnt 
features.  "  I  crave  your  pardon,"  he  said,  half  abashed ; 
"  it  is,  an'  I  mistake  not,  Lieutenant-colonel  Arden,  of  the 
parliament's —  " 

"  Lead  on  then,  sirrah !  since  thou  knowest  me,"  in 
terrupted  Edgar,  shortly,  "  lead  on,  an'  thou  wouldst 
not  repent  it,  and  tell  me  who  commands  yon  horse 
brigade ! " 

"  Stout  Colonel  Cromwell,"  answered  the  soldier,  more 
respectfully  —  "  stout  and  courageous  Colonel  Cromwell. 
He  will,  I  do  believe,  rejoice  at  this  encounter.  This 
way,  good  sir.  Yonder  he  sits  on  the  black  horse  beside 
the  standard,  awaiting  our  return.  Lo  you !  he  sees  us, 
and  the  files  move  onward !  " 

And  he  spoke  truly ;  for,  as  the  cavalry  perceived  the 
videttes  moving  orderly  and  slowly  back,  they  filed  off, 
troop  succeeding  troop,  toward  the  entrance  of  the  lane, 
advancing  on  a  gentle  trot  in  regular  and  beautiful  array. 
As  they  passed  Arden,  many  a  scrutinizing  eye  perused 
his  figure  and  equipments,  and  in  most  instances  a  sancti 
fied  and  solemn  sneer  disturbed  the  dark  repose  of  their 
grave  features,  called  up,  as  it  would  seem,  by  the  rich 
dress  and  courtly  air  of  the  young  officer,  which,  in  their 
wonted  parlance,  were  denounced  as  "  fleshly  lusts  that 
war  against  the  soul,"  devices  of  the  Evil  One,  fringes, 
phylacteries,  and  trappings  of  the  beast.  Nor,  in  moan- 
while,  did  Edgar  turn  a  heedless  or  incurious  glance  to 
ward  those  with  whom,  discarding  friends  and  kindred, 
birthright,  and  rank,  and  chivalrous  association,  as  things 
of  small  avail  compared  to  the  great  common  weal,  he 
had  now  cast  his  lot  forever.  The  first  emotion  of  his 
mind  was  deep  anxiety,  the  second  wonder,  and  the  third 
unqualified  and  unmixed  admiration.  Never,  he  thought, 
in  Germany  or  France,  never,  among  the  veteran  legions 
of  the  Lion  of  the  North,  the  Protestant  Gustavus,  had 
he  beheld  superior  discipline,  or  men  more  soldier-like 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  163 

and  promising.  Mounted  on  strong  black  chargers  of 
full  sixteen  hands  in  height,  their  furniture  of  the  most 
simple  kind,  but  well  designed  and  in  the  best  condition, 
their  iron  panoply,  corslet,  and  helm,  and  taslets,  stainless 
and  brilliant,  and,  above  all  their  bearing  and  demeanor, 
their  seats  upon  their  horses,  firm  yet  easy,  their  muscu 
lar  and  well-developed  limbs,  their  countenances  full  of 
resolution,  and  breathing  all,  despite  the  difference  of  in 
dividual  character,  and  the  various  operations  of  the  same 
aifection  on  minds  of  different  bias,  a  strange  expression 
of  religious  sentiment,  solemn  in  some,  and  stern,  or  even 
sullen,  in  others  wild,  fanatical,  exalted,  and  triumphant, 
yet  in  all  more  or  less  apparent,  as  evidently  forming  the 
great  spring  and  motive  of  their  action. 

Still,  though  attentive  in  the  first  degree  to  the  essen 
tial  rules  of  military  discipline,  keeping  an  accurate  and 
well-dressed  front,  and  managing  their  heavy  chargers 
with  precison,  there  was  not  any  of  that  deep,  respectful 
silence  among  these  military  saints  which  Edgar  had  been 
used  to  look  for  in  the  strictly-ordered  service  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  to  esteem  a  requisite  of  soldiership ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  as  every  troop  rode  past  him,  there 
was  a  constant  hum  of  conversation,  suppressed,  indeed, 
and  low,  but  still  distinctly  audible  ;  and  he  might  mark 
the  knotted  brows  and  clinched  hands  of  the  vehement 
disputers,  arguing  —  as  it  would  seem  from  the  decided 
gestures,  and  the  texts  which  he  occasionally  caught  lend 
ing  an  elevated  savor  to  their  homely  language,  and, 
more  than  all,  from  the  continual  appeal  to  the  well-worn 
and  greasy  bibles  which  each  of  these  stern  controver 
sialists  bore  at  his  girdle — on  questions  of  religious  disci 
pline  or  points  of  abstruse  doctrine.  Although  this  mix 
ture  of  the  soldier  and  religionist,  this  undue,  and,  as  it 
seemed  to  him,  irreverent  blending  of  things  good  and 
holy  with  the  dreadful  trade  of  blood,  jarred  painfully  on 
his  correct  and  feeling  mind,  he  could  not  but  acknowl 
edge  that  this  dark  spirit  of  religious  zeal,  this  confidence 
in  their  own  overweening  righteousness,  this  fixed,  un 
wavering  belief  that  they  were  the  elected  and  predes 
tined  instruments  of  the  Most  High  —  "  to  execute,"  as 
he  could  hear  them  cry  aloud,  "vengeance  upon  the 


164  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

heathen  and  punishment  upon  the  people ! — to  bind  their 
kings  in  chains  and  their  nobles  in  fetters  of  iron  !  "  was 
indeed  a  mighty  and  effective  agent  wherewith  to  oppose 
that  chivalrous,  enthusiastic  bravery,  that  loyal,  self-de 
voting  valor  which  inflamed  the  high-born  army  of  the 
cavaliers  to  deeds  of  noble  daring. 

Nor  did  he  entertain  a  doubt,  when  he  perceived  that 
the  extraordinary  person  who  commanded  them,  was 
himself  occupied  in  preaching,  or  expounding  rather,  the 
mysterious  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  to  which 
especially  the  Puritans  inclined  their  ear,  to  an  attentive 
knot  of  officers,  grouped,  some  upon  their  horses,  and  yet 
more  dismounted,  around  the  regimental  standard,  but 
that  he  had  some  reason  far  more  cogent  than  mere  feel 
ings  of  devotion  for  thus  encouraging  a  spirit  so  unusual 
in  the  breasts  of  his  stout  followers.  Cromwell  had  re 
cently  been  elevated  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  more  even  in 
consideration  of  the  powerful  and  trusty  regiment  which 
he  had  levied  from  the  freeholders  and  yeomanry  of 
Huntingdon  by  his  own  personal  and  private  influence, 
than  of  his  services  performed  already,  not  either  few  or 
inconsiderable,  keeping  the  cavaliers  in  check,  surprising 
many  of  their  leaders,  anticipating  all  their  meditated 
risings,  and  cutting  off  all  convoys,  whether  of  money  or 
munitions,  throughout  the  counties  of  the  Eastern  Asso 
ciation  ;  and  now,  for  the  first  time,  in  actual  command, 
as  he  met  the  eye  of  Arden,  he  sat  on  his  powerful  black 
war-horse,  bestriding  him,  as  it  would  seem,  with  giant 
strength,  and  perfect  mastery  of  leg  and  hand,  but  with 
an  air  wholly  unmilitary  and  devoid  of  ease  or  grace, 
sheathed  nearly  cap-a-pie  in  armor  of  bright  steel,  heavy 
and  exquisitely  finished,  but  utterly  without  relief  or  or 
nament  of  any  kind.  A  band  or  collar  of  plain  linen,  with 
a  broad  hem,  fastened  about  his  short  Herculean  neck, 
varied  alone  the  stern  simplicity  of  his  attire  ;  no  feather 
waved  above  his  low  and  graceful  casque ;  no  shoulder- 
knot  or  scarf  bedecked  his  weapon,  which  was  girt  about 
his  middle  by  a  belt  of  buff  three  inches  at  the  least  in 
width,  and  balanced  on  the  right  side  by  a  formidable 
dudgeon  and  the  brass-bound  case  of  the  familiar  bible, 
which  he  now  held  extended  in  his  left  hand,  while  with 


A  PURITAN  HORSE  REGIMENT.  165 

the  finger  of  his  right  he  vehemently  smote  the  open  pa 
ges  at  each  emphatic  pause  of  his  discourse. 

His  features  showed  not  now  so  sanguine  or  so  kindled 
as  when  Arden  last  beheld  them ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
there  was  a  mild,  half-veiled  expression  about  the  heavy 
eye ;  and  though  the  lines  were  strong  and  marked  as 
ever,  there  was  more  of  deliberate  and  quiet  resolution 
than  of  imperiousness  denoted  by  the  firmness  of  his 
mouth.  It  was  the  countenance,  he  thought,  of  a  calm 
visionary,  pensive  and  meditative  in  his  mood,  and  rather 
steady  in  the  maintenance  of  his  own  fixed  opinions  than 
zealous  to  proscribe  or  controvert  the  fancies  or  the 
rights  of  others.  But  he  had  little  time  for  noting  the 
expression,  changed  as  he  fancied  it  to  be,  of  his  superior, 
much  less  for  marking  the  diverse  features  of  the  martial 
auditors ;  for,  as  he  drew  nigh  to  the  spot  whereon  they 
stood,  Cromwell  ended  his  discourse,  and,  with  a  word  or 
two  of  military  precept,  was  dismissing  his  attendants  to 
their  several  stations.  Several  dashed  past  him  as  he 
rode  up  to  the  little  eminence  on  which  the  colors  were 
erected,  and  but  two  were  waiting  near  the  colonel  when 
he  reached  him ;  one  a  bull-necked,  coarse-featured,  and 
ungainly  looking  person,  with  a  gay  feather  in  his  mo 
rion,  a  showy  tassel  on  his  rapier's  hilt,  and  a  falling  col 
lar  of  some  low-priced  lace  hanging  above  his  gorget ; 
the  other  an  erect  and  well-made  man,  not  past  the  prime 
of  youth,  with  features  singularly  noble  and  expressive, 
though  of  an  almost  Spanish  swarthiness,  and  tinctured 
with  a  deep  and  melancholy  gravity. 

"  Ha!  Colonel  Arden  !  "  exclaimed  Oliver,  his  eye  joy 
fully  flashing  as  he  recognized  him — "  right  glad  am  I  to 
see  you — not  carnally,  nor  with  a  worldly-minded  and  a 
selfish  pleasure,  but  for  that  there  will  be  work  to  do 
anon,  in  which  the  righteous  cause  shall  need  all  arms 
of  its  supporters  !  Have  you  a  power  at  hand  ? — where 
be  they  ? — in  what  what  force  ? — not  travel-worn,  I  trust 
me!" 

"  Six  hundred  horse,"  Edgar  replied,  "  on  the  height 
yonder;  but  for  those  trees  you  might  behold  them 
where  we  stand !  I  left  them  but  just  now,  to  reconnoi- 


16G  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

tre  your  advance,  under  Sir  Edmund  Winthrop,  my 
major." 

"  Good !  good !  "  cried  Cromwell,  eagerly ;  "  and  how 
far  have  you  marched  to-day?  Be  your  men  travel- 
toiled,  your  steeds  leg-weary? — for  verily  we  have  a 
march  before  us." 

"  We  have  travelled  but  six  brief  miles  this  forenoon, 
and  barely  sixteen  yesterday.  My  men  are  in  right  spir 
its,  and  my  horses  fresn!  I  could  accomplish  twenty 
miles  ere  nightfall,  and  that  without  fatigue !  " 

"  Surely  the  Lord  is  gracious,"  was  the  answer ;  "  and  of 
his  grace,  too,  shall  we  right  soon  make  trial.  My  Lord 
of  Essex  hath,  ere  now,  his  post  at  Keinton  ;  and  the  man 
Charles  of  Stuart  hath  at  length  mustered  head  to  face 
him.  'Tis  marvel  if  they  be  not  at  it  even  now.  I  fear 
me  the  lord  general  shall  lack  both  horse  and  cannon ; 
but  we  have  marched  already  a  sore  distance  with  our 
ponderous  guns  and  heavy  armature,  nor  may  I  now  ad 
venture  to  press  on  more  hastily  without  dispersing  my 
command.  Ride  with  me  to  your  regiment,  good  sir  ;  I 
trow  you  were  best  speedily  move  forward.  Keinton  is 
barely  twelve  miles  distant,  and  the  roads,  they  tell  me, 
are  sound  and  passable ;  "  and,  as  he  spoke,  touching  his 
charger  lightly  with  the  spur,  he  broke  into  a  managed 
canter.  "  Cornet,  advance  your  colors,"  he  exclaimed, 
in  short,  keen  accents,  strangely  at  variance  with  the  mo 
notonous  and  inexpressive  tones  of  his  discourse  when 
unexcited  ;  "sound  kettle-drums,  and  march!"  and,  ri 
ding  briskly  forward,  he  easily  passed  the  troops  while 
filing  through  the  lane.  "  Halt  them  here,  Ireton,"  he 
said  to  the  dark-favored  -officer  who  had  accompanied 
him,  as  he  turned  into  the  main  road,  having  outstripped 
the  forces ;  "halt  them  in  column  here,  within  the  lane, 
till  I  return ;  and,  Desborough,  do  thou  ride  back  to 
Hampden's  regiment  of  foot — it  is  a  mile  or  so  in  the 
rear — and  bid  him  bring  it  up  as  rapidly  as  may  be.  Now, 
Colonel  Arden,  I  attend  you!  " 


EDGEHILL.  167 

CHAPTER  II. 

EDGEHILL. 


The  martial  courage  of  a  day  is  vain. 
An  empty  noise  of  death  the  battle's  roar, 
If  vital  hope  be  wanting  to  restore, 
Or  fortitude  be  wanting  to  sustain 
Armies  or  kingdoms. 

WOEDSWOETH. — Sonnets  to  Liberty. 

BETWEEN  those  two  prompt  and  clear-headed  soldiers — 
for  Arden  was  such  by  practice  and  experience,  as 
Cromwell  was  by  nature  and  at  the  dictates  of  his  own 
indomitable  will  to  be  one — no  farther  colloquy  was 
needed.  They  rode  away  at  once  to  Edgar's  regiment, 
where  he  had  posted  it  on  the  hill,  and,  as  they  went, 
Cromwell  informed  him  briefly,  and  with  none  of  those 
prolix  and  verbose  sentences  with  which  he  was  at  times 
accustomed  to  confuse  the  senses  of  his  hearers,  that  he, 
as  senior  officer,  and  therefore  in  command  of  the  brigade 
forming  Lord  Essex's  rear  guard,  was  marching  up,  at 
his  best  pace,  with  his  own  trusty  cavalry,  and  two — the 
stoutest — of  the  parliament's  foot  regiments,  besides  a 
strong  division  of  field  guns ;  that,  by  want  of  intelli 
gence,  the  general — as  he  had  learned  himself  but  yes 
terday — was  hastening  right  upon  the  king,  and,  he  was 
fearful,  would  fall,  unawares  and  unprepared  for  battle, 
upon  his  very  outposts ! 

"  These  tidings  I  received  of  a  sure  hand,"  he  added, 
"  though  whence  it  needeth  not  to  advertise  you.  Whom 
the  Lord  listeth  to  enlighten,  surely  at  his  own  time  he 
shall  inform  him.  But  so  it  is ;  and  it  may  be  that  Essex 
knoweth  not  his  peril!  Wherefore  I  pray  you — ha!  be 
these  your  men  ?  I  do  profess  to  you  I  hold  them  stout 
and  soldierly ;  not  like  the  drunken  tapsters  and  vile 
turn-coat  serving  men  who — fie  on  it !  that  I  should  say 
so — do  compose  the  bulk  of  our  array !  Truly  these  fel 
lows  shall  do  credit  to  the  cause ;  so  that  the  spirit,  the 


168  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

right  leaven  be  toward,  and  the  Lord  strike  on  our  side ! 
Wherefore  I  pray  you  lead  them,  as  swiftly  as  you  find 
consist  with  order,  upon  Keinton.  If  that  they  have  not 
yet  joined  battle,  say  thus  to  the  lord  general,  that  I  be 
seech  him  hold  off  from  them  so  long  as  he  may ;  I  shall 
be  with  him  by  nine  of  to-morrow's  clock.  Ha !  heard 
you  nothing  ?  "  he  broke  off  abruptly,  as  a  deep,  distant 
sound  rolled  heavily  upon  the  air ;  and,  before  Arden 
might  reply,  the  sullen  rumbling  was  again  repeated,  like 
the  faint  muttering  of  a  rising  thunder-storm,  or  the  pre 
monitory  growling  of  an  earthquake.  "  It  was  not  thun 
der  !  "  answered  Edgar,  in  the  voice  of  one  asserting 
rather  than  questioning ;  "  there  are  no  clouds  aloft,  nor 
yet  on  the  horizon !  " 

"  Ordnance !  "  exclaimed  the  other  — "  ordnance,  and 
heavier,  too,  than  ours  !  Listen,  now  listen  !  "  And 
again  the  heavy  rolling  sound  came  surging  down  the 
wind,  which  freshened  slightly  from  the  westward.  Again 
it  came  after  a  momentary  pause,  yet  louder  than  before, 
and  more  distinct ;  and  then  continued  without  interval, 
the  deep,  unquestionable  voice  of  a  hot  cannonade. 

"  Away,  sir  —  God  go  with  you  ! "  cried  the  stern  Pu 
ritan,  excited  now  beyond  the  bounds  of  self-restraint. 
"  Tarry  not  on  the  way,  nor  loiter  !  Gird  up  your  loins, 
I  say.  Ride  on !  ride  on,  and  conquer !  Verily,  but  that 
it  is  the  Lord's  own  doing,  verily,  Edgar  Arden,  I  would 
have  envied  you  your  fortune.  Ride  on  —  you  shall  be 
yet  in  time  —  ride  on  —  amen !  Selah ! " 

While  he  yet  spoke,  the  officers  and  men,  stirred  up 
already  by  the  near  sound  of  battle,  and  almost  maddened 
with  excitement  by  the  exulting  and  prophetic  cries  of 
Cromwell,  were  vying  with  each  other,  these  to  give  forth, 
those  to  obey,  and  almost  to  anticipate,  the  needful  or 
ders  ;  and,  as  he  uttered  the  last  words  at  the  full  pitch  of 
his  piercing  voice,  the  trumpets  rang  a  wild  and  thrilling 
flourish  ;  the  squadron,  with  a  single  shout,  unbidden  and 
unanimous,  that  spoke  the  burning  feelings  of  the  troop 
ers,  swept  on  at  a  hard  trot ;  and,  in  an  instant,  not  a 
sound  was  to  be  heard  but  the  thick-beating  clatter  of 
the  hoofs,  mixed  with  the  clang  of  spur  and  scabbard,  and 


EDGEHILL.  169 


now  and  then  a  boom  of  the  deep  kettle-drum  timing  the 
pace  of  the  advance. 

Onward !  onward  they  hurried  at  the  utmost  speed 
which  prudence  would  admit,  which  nothing  but  the  ad- 
mirable  quality  and  high  condition  of  their  chargers  ena 
bled  them  to  prosecute.  Mile  after  mile  was  passed  and 
still  the  dull  and  awful  roar,  the  knell  of  many  a  gallant 
spirit  waxed  clearer  and  more  clear.  Having  accom 
plished  seven  miles  within  the  hour,  they  halted  for  ten 
minutes  in  a  small  hamlet  to  water  and  to  breathe  their 
horses;  and  there,  when  the  confused  and  constant  noise 

•  i!61£  °Wn  rapid  march  was  silent'  thcy  might  distin 
guish  the  first  sharp  explosion  of  the  leading  gun  in  every 
rolling  volley ;  and  ever  and  anon,  between  the  deep- 
mouthed  cannon,  the  grinding  rattle  of  the  musketry  was 
audible,  though  faintly. 

Onward !  onward  again,  and,  ere  another  hour  elapsed, 
Arden  had  marked  the  clouds  of  smoke  surging  and  ed 
dying  above  the  distant  hills.  The  regiment  cleared  the 
verge  of  a  low  eminence ;  a  gentle  valley  slept  below  them 
in  the  still  misty  radiance  of  a  rich  autumnal  sunset ;  a 
tranquil  stream  wound  through  it,  crossed  by  a  lofty  one- 
arched  bridge,  built,  as  was  evident  from  the  bright  rip 
ples  of  the  ford  beside  it,  merely  for  use  in  times  of  win 
try  flood,  and  to  the  left,  at  a  short  mile  above  the  bridge 
nestled  the  whitewashed  cottages  of  a  neat  country  village' 
Ihe  ridge  which  bounded  this  fair  dale  toward  the  west' 
though  cultivated  at  the  base,  and  checkered  with  dark 
woods  and  golden  stubbles,  lay  bare  toward  the  rounded 
lummits  in  unclosed  and  open  sheep-walks.  Above  these 
summits  the  volumed  smoke  rose  white  as  fleeces  of  the 
purest  wool,  and  scarce  less  solid  to  the  eye,  relieving 
every  object  on  the  brow  as  plainly  as  though  it  had 
stood  out  against  a  clear  horizon;  while  all  the  mingled 
dm  of  battle  rolled  up,  a  near  and  fearful  contrast  to  the 
sweet  peace  of  that  secluded  spot. 

Just  as  they  gained  a  fair  view  of  the  valley  and  the 
leights  beyond,  a  single  figure  crossed  the  opposite  swell 
clark  and  distinctly  seen;  a  horseman  on  a  furious  gallop 
As  he  descended,  a  slant  sunbeam  glanced  upon  his  iron 
Headpiece  —  he  was  a  trooper  —  flying.  Another  rushed 
H 


170  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

across  the  ridge  —  another,  and  another  —  a  confused  and 
panic-stricken  group. 

"  Forward !  —  secure  the  passage  of  the  stream  !  For 
ward  !  ho  !  forward !  "  and  at  a  yet  more  rapid  pace  they 
plunged  down  the  descent ;  they  reached  the  causeway 
of  the  bridge  —  they  lined  the  banks  with  their  harque- 
busiers,  and  waited  the  arrival  of  the  fugitives.  On  came 
the  first,  urging  his  jaded  steed,  but  urging  him  in  vain ; 
his  sword  was  gone ;  his  holsters  were  empty  ;  his  buff- 
coat  was  soiled  and  splashed  with  many  a  miry  stain.  His 
spurs  alone  were  bloody.  Long  ere  he  reached  the 
bridge  Arden's  quick  eye  had  caught  the  orange  scarf, 
and  he  rode  forth  alone  to  meet  him.  At  first  the  fugi 
tive  drew  up  his  horse  as  though  he  would  have  turned, 
but  a  fresh  roar  of  cannon  from  behind  decided  him. 
"  All's  lost !  all's  lost ! "  he  cried  —  "  all's  lost !  Fly !  fly ! 
Rupert  is  close  behind !  " 

"  Silence,  for  shame !  "  shouted  the  partisan  —  "  coward 
and  slave,  be  silent,  or  I  cleave  thee  to  the  earth  !  If  all 
be  lost,  why  rages  yon  hot  cannonade  ?  How  far  from 
this  to  the  field?" 

"  A  short  three  miles,"  replied  the  other,  trembling, 
and  fearful  no  less  of  new  acquaintance  than  of  the  foes  he 
fled.  Meanwhile  on  came  the  rest  • —  all  panic-stricken, 
travel-soiled,  and  weaponless ;  but  not  one  man  was 
wounded. 

"  The  cowards  !  "  Edgar  muttered,  as  if  carelessly,  when 
he  rejoined  his  men,  fearful  lest  they  might  be  disheart 
ened  ;  "  the  vile,  dastard  hounds !  that  fled  without  blow 
stricken  or  blood  drawn !  But  that 't  were  loss  of  time,  I 
would  draw  out  a  file  for  execution.  We  will  advance, 
and  win  more  easily,  that  none  are  left  to  cumber  us  with 
heartless  counsels !  Fly  on,  ye  dogs,"  he  cried,  more 
loudly,  as  he  wheeled  his  men  once  more  into  their  col 
umn  — "  fly  on,  and  pray  the  while  ye  fly  that  ye  meet 
not  with  Cromwell  on  your  route,  else  shall  ye  but  repent 
that  the  cavaliers  made  not  an  end  of  you  before  your 
race  began ;  for,  an'  I  know  him,  he  will  cut  it  right  short 
with  a  halter  or  a  volley ! "  And,  with  a  scornful  laugh, 
he  cantered  on,  eager  to  gain  the  vantage  of  the  hill,  and 
seeing  at  a  glance  that  no  more  runaways  poured  over  it. 


EDGEHILL.  171 

"  Tt  cannot  be,"  he  said  to  his  second  in  command  —  "it 
cannot  be  the  day  goes  utterly  against  us,  else  how  should 
these  have  fled  three  miles  from  the  encounter,  and  still 
the  firing  on  both  sides  continue  —  continue,  said  I  — 
nay,  but  it  waxes  warmer !  " 

They  reached  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  and  at  first  sight 
Edgar  indeed  believed  that  all  was  over.  A  long  broad 
valley  lay  outstretched  beneath  him,  that  might  almost  be 
called  a  plain,  the  foreground  scattered  thick  with  groups 
of  roundheads,  flying,  here  singly,  here  in  bodies,  to  the 
south,  toward  the  town  of  Keinton,  in  a  line  nearly  paral 
lel  to  the  range  of  heights  on  which  he  stood ;  while  in 
the  middle  distance  he  might  see  a  torrent  of  dispersed 
pursuing  cavalry,  with  flaunting  plumes  and  fluttering 
scarfs,  swords  brandished  to  the  sun,  and  pistol-shots  all 
redly  flashing  out  through  the  dense  smoke,  as  unrelent 
ingly  they  urged  the  massacre.  But,  as  he  looked  more 
steadfastly  upon  the  scene,  he  could  distinguish,  at  some 
two  or  three  miles'  distance  toward  the  northern  verge  of 
the  unbroken  valley,  two  dark,  uninterrupted  lines,  whence 
rose  the  smoke  and  burst  the  vivid  flashes  of  artillery  with 
undiminished  vigor.  He  could  discern,  between  the 
cloudy  screens,  the  wavering  and  wheeling  masses  that 
still  waged  the  balanced  fight,  and  he  could  hear  the  rat 
tling  volleys  of  the  musketry  sharp  and  incessant. 

"  'T  is  but  our  cavalry,"  he  said  —  "  'tis  but  our  cavalry 
that  fly,  and  their  horse-general  has  lost  a  golden  oppor 
tunity  ;  had  he  but  wheeled  upon  our  flank,  when  the  dog- 
troopers  fled,  he  might  have  gained  the  battle.  But  it  is 
now  too  late,  and,  an'  he  look  not  out  the  sharper,  we 
may  yet  give  him  a  rebuff  he  dreams  not  of.  Sound 
trumpets — ha !  sound  merrily  a  rally  and  a  charge !  Ad 
vance,  brave  hearts,  we  will  redeem  the  day.  For  lo ! " 
he  added,  with  rare  tact,  as  he  perceived  the  royal  horse 
relaxing  their  pursuit,  and  heard  their  trumpets  winding 
a  recall  —  "  for  lo !  they  have  perceived  us,  and  retreat 
already ! " 

And  down  the  slope  he  moved  in  admirable  order,  in 
terposing  a  small  wood  between  his  force  and  the  retiring 
cavalry  of  the  victorious  royalists ;  whom,  notwithstand 
ing  his  most  politic  vaunt,  he  little  wished  at  that  time  to 


172  OLIVER  CROMWELL, 

encounter.  Just  ere  he  sank  upon  the  level  ground  he 
carefully  reviewed  the  scene  before  him,  and  was  even 
more  convinced  than  ever  that  the  battle  was  indeed  still 
undetermined;  and,  farther  yet,  that  the  royalist  horse 
were  at  the  last  aware  of  their  mistake  in  urging  the  pur 
suit  too  far ;  for  he  might  see  them  straining  every  nerve 
now  to  repair  their  error,  as  they  swept  back  toward  the 
left-hand  rear  of  the  contending  parties,  leaving  thereby 
the  access  to  the  right  wing  of  Lord  Essex,  whom  Anleii 
justly  deemed  to  lie  between  himself  and  the  king's  for 
ces,  easy  and  unobstructc-d. 

Instantly  he  perceived,  and  profited  as  instantly  by  this 
advantage ;  marching  at  a  sharp  trot  across  the  field 
strewed  with  the  mangled  carcasses  of  those  who,  by  their 
dastard  flight,  had  lost  the  wretched  lives  they  sacrificed 
their  honor  to  preserve,  and  forfeited  all  claim  to  that  ]  ire- 
carious  boon,  a  soldier's  pity.  Once  on  the  level  ground, 
he  could  discover  nothing  farther,  and  the  suspense  was 
fearful;  and  now  the  cannonading  ceased;  the  musketry 
fell  thicker  and  more  constant;  then  that  ceased  likewise, 
and  was  followed  by  the  faintly-heard  hurrah  of  charging 
horse,  and  the  wild  chorus  of  a  psalm.  "  The  day  is  ours," 
he  shouted,  as  he  recognized  the  sounds  —  "  on !  on !  to 
share  the  glory !  " 

Faster  they  hurried,  and  but  little  time  elapsed  ere  he 
brought  up  his  squadron,  without  the  slightest  opposition, 
or  indeed  notice,  on  the  king's  part,  to  the  extreme  right 
of  the  position  occupied  in  the  commencement  of  the  ac 
tion  by  the  army  of  the  parliament.  The  moment  was 
indeed  most  critical,  and  Edgar  could  not  but  perceive, 
as,  having  left  his  regiment  for  the  moment  in  command 
of  his  major,  he  rode  up  and  reported  to  the  general,  that 
his  arrival  was  deemed  singularly  opportune.  Never,  per 
haps,  had  been  a  field  more  nearly  lost ;  never  a  victory 
more  madly  castaway ;  never  a  battle  poised  more  equally. 
The  base  desertion  of  Sir  Faithful  Fortescue,  the  terror- 
stricken  flight  of  Waller's  horse  on  the  left  wing  before 
the  fiery  charge  of  Rupert,  and  the  defeat  of  the  right 
wing  by  Wilmot  and  Sir  Arthur  Aston,  had  left  both 
flanks  of  the  parliamentarians  utterly  naked  and  unguard 
ed  ;  so  that  a  single  charge  by  either  of  the  royalist  com- 


EDGEHILL.  173 

manders  upon  the  flank  or  rear  which  they  had  turned, 
must  have  annihilated  all  of  their  array  which  yet  stood 
firm,  the  foot  under  the  earl  in  person,  and  a  reserve  of 
horse  under  Sir  William  Balfour.  But  with  that  desper 
ate  and  selfish  fury  wThich  neutralized,  in  every  instance, 
the  effects  of  his  undaunted  valor,  Rupert  drove  past  the 
left,  as  Wilmot  did  by  the  right,  of  Essex,  trampling  and 
cutting  down  their  unresisting  countrymen  for  several 
miles'  distance  from  the  field,  the  former  suff'ering  his  men 
to  sack  the  town  of  Keinton,  and  to  disperse  among  the 
baggage  of  the  enemy ;  while  his  desertion  had  not  only 
robbed  the  king  of  all  his  hopes  of  victory,  but  actually 
placed  him  in  a  more  evil  plight,  and  peril  far  more  immi 
nent,  than  had  defeat  the  foe. 

For  Balfour,  with  his  squadron  of  reserve,  seeing  the 
plain  entirely  clear  of  horse,  had  charged  the  royal  foot 
with  such  a  steadiness  of  persevering  courage,  that  he  had 
cut  the  Earl  of  Lindsey's  regiment  to  pieces,  taking  that 
nobleman,  with  his  brave  son  Lord  Willoughby,  both  des 
perately  wounded,  prisoners,  winning  the  king's  own 
standard,  throwing  the  centre  into  perilous  confusion,  and 
hewing  his  way  almost  to  the  person  of  the  monarch.  Just 
at  this  moment,  when  a  bold  advance  of  his  whole  line 
must  have  completed  the  king's  ruin,  Lord  Essex  was 
compelled,  by  Rupert's  reappearance  on  his  left  with  his 
fast  rallying  cavalry,  who,  though  in  disarray,  and  tired 
both  horse  and  man,  were  flushed  with  their  success  and 
high  in  spirit,  to  recall  Balfour  to  make  head  against  him ; 
and  that  bold  leader's  trumpets  were  calling  off  his  troop 
ers  from  their  half-achieved  success  when  Arden  reached 
the  field,  and  was  directed  instantly  to  move  his  fresh 
men  forward  to  protect  the  left  wing  of  the  infantry  till 
Balfour  should  draw  off  and  relieve  him. 

His  troops,  though  new  to  service,  were  admirably  dis 
ciplined  and  full  of  daring  confidence  in  their  tried  leader ; 
and  with  such  promptitude  and  regularity  did  they  ma 
noeuvre  and  deploy  in  face  of  a  superior  body,  that  he  al 
most  regretted  that  there  was  no  better  opportunity  to 
prove  their  mettle  and  to  flesh  their  maiden  swords.  His 
duty  quietly  performed,  and  the  reserve  of  Balfour  being 
reformed  in  haste  and  fronting  Rupert,  he  was  commanded 


174  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

once  again  to  occupy  his  first  position  on  the  right ;  and 
now  instinctively  he  saw  that  either  army  might  be  deemed 
half  conquered,  that  a  single  charge,  nay,  but  a  single  de 
monstration,  would  suffice  to  win  an  absolute  and  'undis 
puted  victory.  Each  host  was  spiritless  and  disarrayed ; 
the  leaders  on  each  side  confused  and  doubtful ;  the  troops 
exhausted,  slack,  and  heartless.  Vainly  he  prayed  the 
general-in-chief  to  suffer  him  to  risk  his  single  regiment 
in  but  one  charge  on  Rupert's  half-collected  squadrons ; 
pointing  out  to  him  clearly,  but  without  effect,  the  strong 
presumption  that  his  fresh  men  and  vigorous  horses  must 
sweep  away,  like  dust,  the  cavaliers,  worn  out  with  the 
lassitude  forever  consequent  on  over-fierce  excitement, 
and  troubled  farther  at  finding  themselves  assailed  from 
having  of  late  been  assailants  —  and  the  certainty  that,  if 
such  should  be  the  case,  undoubted  victory  must  ensue. 

The  earl  was  cold  and  dubious.  "We  may  not  hope," 
he  said  —  "  we  may  not  hope  for  victory  to-night.  It  is  a 
mercy  from  on  high  —  I  had  right  nearly  said  a  miracle  — 
that  we  stand  here  as  now,  at  vantage,  holding  the  better 
of  a  doubtful  day.  An  hour  ago  methought  that  all  was 
lost.  Moreover,  it  has  gone  tenfold  more  fatally  with 
them  than  us.  We  have  lost  privates,  men  neither  high 
of  heart  nor  strong  of  hand,  much  less  of  eminence  or  wis 
dom  ;  they  the  first  flowers  of  England.  Oh !  I  could 
well-nigh  weep,  but  that  't  were  treason  to  our  cause,  for 
the  pure  blood  that  has  been  shed  like  water,  Lindsey  and 
Aubigney,  and  Stewart,  and  Edmund  Verney,  the  bravest 
and  the  best  of  the  array,  all  lost,  all  lost  in  this  accursed 
quarrel !  Two  more  such  fields  as  this  were  fatal  to  the 
king,  while  ten  such  would  but  leave  us,  at  the  worst, 
where  now  we  are ! " 

Slowly  and  unconvinced  Edgar  rode  back  to  his  com 
mand  ;  and  as  he  watched  the  movements  of  the  enemy, 
now  holding  the  precise  position  they  had  occupied  three 
hours  before,  whatever  doubt  he  might  have  entertained 
till  then,  vanished  at  once  —  for  he  beheld  the  hapless 
Charles,  armed  as  becomes  a  king  to  battle  for  his  crown, 
all  steel  from  spur  to  helmet,  a  mantle  of  black  velvet, 
with  the  star  and  George  of  diamonds,  floating  above  his 
armor  —  reining  his  snow-white  charger  gallantly  among 


EDGEHILL.  175 

his  wavering  lines,  beseeching  them  "  once  more,"  with 
energetic  gestures  —  "  once  more  to  charge  the  rebels !  " 
—  and  he  beheld  the  faint  and  false-hearted  denial ;  for 
not  by  any  prayer  or  promise  could  those  to  whom  he 
spoke  with  words  of  fire  be  wrought  upon  a  second  time 
to  dare  the  onset. 

Meanwhile  the  sun  set  gloomily  in  a  dense  bank  of 
clouds,  the  night,  "  that  common  friend  to  wearied  and 
dismantled  armies,"  sank  darkly  down  upon  the  plain  so 
thickly  set  with  sights  and  sounds  of  agony  and  horror 
that  it  was  but  one  mighty  charnel-house ;  and  the  two 
hosts,  each  on  the  ground  whereon  they  fought,  slept 
anxious  and  uneasy  on  their  arms ;  uncertain  of  their  pres 
ent  safety,  and  unresolved  of  their  proceedings  for  the 
morrow. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AFTER,    THE     BATTLE. 

How  uncertain 

The  fortune  of  the  war  is,  children  know ; 
And  it  being  in  suspense,  on  whose  fair  tent 
Winged  victory  will  make  her  glorious  stand, 
You  cannot  blame  the  duke,  though  he  appear 
Perplexed  and  troubled. 

MASSINGEK.— Duke  of  Milan. 

THE  morning  was  yet  gray  and  gloomy  after  a  night 
of  frost,  felt  the  more  bitterly  by  those  who  bivouacked 
upon  the  field,  since  there  was  neither  tree,  nor  hedge, 
nor  any  other  covert  nigh  to  fence  them  from  the  piercing 
wind,  when  Arden  started  from  the  disturbed  and  unre- 
freshing  slumbers  which  had  crept  upon  him,  beneath  the 
partial  shelter  of  an  ammunition  tumbrel  overturned  and 
broken,  uproused  by  the  loud  trumpets  of  the  powerful 
reinforcement  brought  up  before  the  promised  hour  by 
Cromwell.  It  consisted  of  two  thousand  foot,  Hampden's 
and  Grantham's  regiments,  and  his  own  ironsides,  whose 
presence  might,  on  the  preceding  day,  have  turned  the 


17G  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

doubtful  scale,  and  ended,  at  a  single  stroke,  the  war  un 
fortunately  destined  to  no  such  speedy  termination. 

It  was  a  strange  and  melancholy,  though  exciting  scene, 
that  met  his  gaze  as  he  arose  ;  the  dark  skies  scarcely  dap- 

Eled  in  the  east  by  the  first  paly  streaks  of  dawn ;  the 
dnt  stars  waning  one  by  one  as  the  cold  light  increased, 
the  black  brows  of  the  neighboring  hills  cutting  distinct 
and  sharp  against  the  wan  horizon  ;  the  white  and  ghostly 
mist  creeping  in  wreaths  along  their  bases,  and  curtaining 
the  plain  with  a  dense  veil,  through  which  the  watchfires 
of  the  royal  host,  at  scantly  a  mile's  distance,  burnt  with 
a  dull  and  lurid  redness,  like  to  the  glimmering  of  a  witch's 
caldron.  The  foreground  was  heaped  with  the  carriages 
of  the  artillery,  horses  picqueted  in  their  ranks,  and  com 
panies  of  men  outstretched  on  the  dank  soil,  sleeping  upon 
no  better  couches  than  their  dripping  cloaks,  beneath  no 
warmer  canopy  than  the  o'ercast  and  gusty  firmament. 
Nor  were  the  sounds  that  rose  at  intervals  from  the  oppos 
ing  camps,  and  the  deserted  battle  field  between  them, 
less  wild  and  mournful  than  the  images  which  crowded 
their  nocturnal  area.  The  measured  tramp  of  the  un 
wearied  sentinel,  now  mingled  with  the  clash  of  armor, 
seemed  close  beside  the  ear,  now  gradually  subsiding  into 
silence  as  he  visited  his  farther  beat.  The  clang  and  clat 
ter  of  the  horse  patrol,  s  \vept  farther  off  at  wider  distance 
around  the  guarded  limits,  and  the  deep,  melancholy  ca 
dence  of  his  occasional  "  All's  well "  came  to  the  ear 
heavily,  in  tones  that  seemed  to  belie  the  import  of  the 
words.  The  neigh  and  stamp  of  restless  chargers  ;  the 
howling  of  forsaken  dogs;  and,  sadder  and  more  terrible 
than  all  beside,  the  feeble  wailing,  the  hall-heard,  distant 
groan,  or  the  long-drawn,  but  unavailing  cry  for  succor, 
of  maimed  and  miserable  wretches,  who  had  battled  and 
striven  with  their  mortal  pangs  throughout  the  livelong 
night,  cursing  the  unnatural  strength  that  nerved  their 
fainting  and  reluctant  flesh  to  strive  with  that  inevitable 
angel,  whom  their  more  willing  spirit  would  have  wel 
comed  as  a  rescuer  and  friend — all  these  combined  to 
make  the  dawning  day  most  horrible  and  hideous. 

While  Arden  was  yet  listening,  with  a  sick  heart  and 
tortured  ear,  to  these  too  numerous  witnesses  of  human 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE.  177 

agony,  and  pondering  upon  the  dread  responsibility  of 
him  who,  to  indulge  a  lawless  thirst  after  a  little  brief  au 
thority,  had  let  loose  on  a  happy  land  that  most  abhorred 
curse  of  nations,  domestic  war,  an  orderly  rode  up  in  haste 
to  crave  his  presence  at  the  quarters  of  the  general.  Af 
ter  a  short  and  rapid  walk  toward  the  rear,  he  reached  the 
spot  where  Essex,  like  the  meanest  of  his  men,  had  passed 
the  night,  beneath  no  other  roof  than  the  inclement  sky. 
A  dozen  pikes,  irregularly  pitched  into  the  ground,  and 
draped  with  horse-blankets  and  watch-cloaks,  offered  a 
shelter  rather  nominal  than  real  against  the  night  air  on 
the  north  and  east,  while  a  huge  pile  of  logs  sparkled  and 
blazed  in  front,  casting  a  wavering  glare  of  crimson  upon 
a  group  of  tall  and  martial-looking  officers,  collected  round 
the  person  of  their  leader,  and  glittering  more  obscurely 
on  the  arms  and  figures  of  a  score  or  two  of  troopers,  who 
sat  motionless  on  their  tall  chargers  at  some  short  distance 
in  the  rear. 

The  council,  as  it  seemed  to  Edgar  on  his  first  approach, 
were  absolutely  silent ;  but,  as  he  drew  nearer,  he  found 
that  Essex  was  addressing  them,  although  in  tones  so  low 
and  so  subdued  that  they  scarce  reached  the  ears  of  those 
for  whom  they  were  intended.  Nor,  as  he  judged  from 
the  expression  painted  on  every  countenance  —  for  the 
lord  general  ceased  from  speaking  just  as  he  joined  the 
circle  —  were  his  words  calculated  to  inspire  his  listeners 
with  confidence  or  warlike  spirit.  A  blank,  desponding 
gloom  sat  darkling  on  the  brows  of  all,  and  every  eye 
save  those  of  the  new-comers,  who  stood  together  and 
apart  a  little  from  the  rest,  dwelt  gloomily  upon  the 
ground.  It  seemed  a  meeting  rather  of  defeated  and  des 
pairing  fugitives,  than  of  the  bold  and  dauntless  spirits 
who  had  but  yestereven  maintained  a  more  than  equal 
strife  against  the  flower  of  England's  nobles  —  till,  sud 
denly,  with  his  harsh  features  kindling  into  passionate  and 
fiery  animation,  and  his  eye  glancing  wildfire,  Cromwell, 
whom  Edgar  had  not  hitherto  observed,  upstarted  from  a 
pile  of  housings  and  horse-furniture  on  which  he  had  been 
seated  —  "  As  the  Lord  liveth,"  he  exclaimed  — "  as  the 
Lord  liveth,  we  can  smite  them  hip  and  thigh,  if  so  be 
that  your  excellency  will  give  me  but  command  to  charge 
H  12 


178  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

upon  them  now,  while  they  yet  lie,  with  faint  hearts  and 
with  heavy  eyes,  about  their  watch-fires.  I  ask  but  for 
my  own  stout  troop  of  ironsides  and  Colonel  Arden's 
horse  here,  if  he  list  to  join  me  —  I  ask  but  these,  and, 
verily,  I  do  profess  to  you,  they  shall  not  bide  the  chang 
ing  of  a  buffet ;  nay,  but  we  shall  destroy  them  utterly, 
smiting  them  with  the  sword,  as  Joshua  smote  them  be 
side  the  waters,  even  the  waters  of  Merom,  what  time  he 
did  to  them  as  the  Lord  bade  him ;  he  houghed  their 
horses  and  burnt  their  chariots  with  lire  ! " 

"  It  is  too  late,  sir !  "  returned  Essex,  coldly — "  It  is 
too  late !  The  morning  will  have  broken  ere  you  can  get 
your  men  to  horse." 

"  Nay,  but  not  so,  lord  general,"  anxiously  interrupted 
Cromwell ;  "  my  troopers  be  not  yet  dismounted  ;  and, 
of  a  truth,  I  do  assure  you  that  their  spirits  are  athirst, 
ay,  and  their  souls  an  hungered,  to  do  this  battle  for  the 
Lord !  " 

"  We  will  not  have  it  so,  sir,"  replied  the  earl,  shortly, 
and  scarcely  courteously — we  will  not  have  it  so.  It 
might  endanger  our  whole  host.  I  pray  yon,  Colonel 
Cromwell,  draw  out  your  horse  upon  our  farthest  left,  fa 
cing  thereby  Prince  Rupert  on  the  king's  right  wing. 
And  you,  fair  gentlemen" — turning  to  Hampden  and 
Grantham — "move  up  your  gallant  foot  to  re  nforce  our 
center.  Had  ye  been  here  but  yesterday,  I  had  not 
feared  to  gain  a  complete  victory ;  but  now  I  hold  it  rash 
to  offer  or  commence,  though,  by  God's  help,  we  will  not 
shun  encounter.  Sirs,  to  your  posts.  The  council  is  at 
an  end.  The  day  is  breaking — lo,  there  sounds  the 
reveille !  " 

"  Cold  council !  "  muttered  Cromwell  in  the  ear  of  Ar- 
den,  as  he  left  the  presence  ;  "  cold  council,  if  not  trai 
torous  !  and,  at  the  best,  false  argument ! — for  an'  he  could 
half  beat  Charles  Stuart  without  us  yesterday,  sure,  with 
three  thousands  of  fresh  men,  and  those  the  best  of  his 
array,  he  might  now  trample  him  beneath  his  feet !  Be 
sides,  with  V  erney  slain  outright,  and  Lindsey  captive, 
and  half  their  officers  cut  down  or  grievously  entreated, 
stands  it  not  certain  that  they  must  need  be  faint  of 
heart  ?  Verily !  verily !  I  say  to  you,  there  shall  be  no 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE.  179 

good  thing  befall  the  righteous  cause  while  such  a  leader 
marshals  us." 

As  he  concluded  he  turned  off  abruptly,  mounted  his 
horse,  and  rode  away  among  his  troopers,  who  awaited 
their  stout  colonel  in  the  rear ;  and,  ere  ten  minutes  had 
elapsed,  Edgar  might  hear  them  chanting,  in  subdued 
and  sullen  tones,  the  melancholy  psalm,  "  Save  me,  O 
God,  for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul,"  as  they 
marched  gloomily  away  to  occupy  the  post  to  which  they 
were  assigned.  At  the  same  time  the  regiments,  which, 
for  the  last  half  hour,  had  been  getting  under  arms,  fell 
in,  and  faced  the  army  of  the  king,  now  clearly  to  be 
seen,  as  the  mists  gradually  rolled  away  before  the  grow 
ing  daylight,  resuming  the  position  it  had  held  before  the 
action  of  the  previous  day. 

The  instruments  of  music  sounded,  indeed,  and  cheer 
ily,  and  the  bright  colors  fluttered  gayly  in  the  freshening 
breeze ;  but  other  sign  of  spirit  or  alacrity  along  the  ser 
ried  ranks  Edgar  saw  none,  before  he  reached  his  own 
brave  troopers,  already  mounted  in  an  accurate  array, 
under  Sir  Edmund  Winthrop,  and  eager  —  as  the  heart- 
stirring  shout  with  which  they  greeted  their  commander 
spoke  them,  for  the  onset,  of  which  they  deemed  his  pres 
ence  the  immediate  harbinger. 

The  sun  rose  broad  and  bright,  kindling  the  whole  ex 
panse  of  heaven  with  his  fair  luster ;  the  mist-wreaths 
floated  upward,  and  dispersed  themselves  into  the 
delicate  and  scale-like  clouds,  flecking  the  azure  skies, 
which  promise  glorious  days;  the  morning  gradually 
passed  away,  and  noon  drew  nigh,  and  still  each  army 
held  its  ground,  facing  the  other  in  the  stern  array  of 
warfare,  both,  as  it  seemed,  prepared  and  resolute  to 
meet,  but  neither  willing  to  commence  the  onset.  At 
times,  the  trumpets  on  one  side  would  breathe  forth  a 
wild  nourish  of  defiance,  and  a  shout  or  psalm  would  go 
up  to  the  peaceful  heaven  from  the  other,  intended,  it 
might  be,  to  challenge  or  to  irritate  the  foe  into  some 
movement  that  should  lay  him  open  to  attack ;  but  the 
sun  rode  high  in  heaven,  and  hour  by  hour  the  chances 
of  a  general  action  became  less  imminent.  Suddenly,  at 
a  moment  when  all  those  leaders  of  the  parliament,  who 


180  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

deemed  it  no  less  for  their  interest  than  honor  to  give 
battle,  almost  despaired  of  an  opportunity  for  sealing 
their  adherence  to  the  cause,  there  was  a  movement  on 
the  right  wing  of  the  royal  host.  Directly  in  the  center 
of  the  field,  midway  between  the  hues  of  either  army, 
four  light  field-pieces,  sakers  and  culverins,  had  been 
abandoned,  on  the  previous  day,  by  the  king's  infantry, 
when  shattered  and  disordered,  though  still  fighting  with 
their  faces  to  the  foe,  by  the  repeated  charge  of  Balfour's 
horse.  So  rapidly  had  night  set  in  upon  the  wearied 
hosts,  and  perhaps  so  fearful  were  both  parties  of  then 
doing  aught  which  might  provoke  renewal  of  the  conflict, 
that  these,  the  proof  and  prizes  of  the  victory,  had  been 
permitted  to  remain  unmoved,  either  by  rescuer  or  cap 
tor,  through  the  long  hours  of  darkness ;  and,  until  mid 
day  was  at  hand,  no  disposition  was  exhibited  to  bring 
them  off,  whether  by  cavalier  or  Puritan.  But  now, 
either  disposed  to  fight,  if  needful,  with  courage  gath 
ered  from  the  weak  policy  of  Essex,  or  convinced  by 
their  inactivity  that  he  should  meet  with  no  resistance 
from  the  despised  and  hated  roundheads,  Rupert  dashed 
forth  in  person  from  the  right,  with  a  detachment  of  the 
king's  horseguard,  that  gallant  troop  of  nobles  whose 
impetuous  and  headlong  daring,  though  at  the  first  it  had 
passed,  like  a  torrent,  sheer  through  the  reeling  ranks 
and  weaker  cavalry  of  its  opponents,  had  yet  done  more 
against  the  final  gaining  of  the  day  than  the  fiercest 
struggles  of  the  adversary.  Forward  they  came,  mounted 
on  horses  that  might  each  have  borne  a  king  to  battle, 
rending  the  air  with  their  repeated  cheers,  and  with  the 
joyous  clangor  of  their  defying  trumpets,  a  flood  of  waving 
plumes  and  fluttering  scarfs,  the  bravest  and  the  best 
born  of  the  land.  Midway  between  the  hosts  they  gal 
loped  on,  exposing,  as  it  would  seem,  in  very  wantonness 
of  bold  bravado,  the  flank  of  their  advance  to  the  stern 
ironsides  of  Cromwell,  who  showed  like  a  dark  storm- 
cloud  ready  to  burst  upon  their  heads  with  all  the  crash 
and  ruin  of  a  tempest. 

Already  were  those  gloomy  moralists  exchanging  their 
dull  scowls  of  rigid  and  abstracted  sanctity  for  the  fierce 
flashings  of  enthusiastic  joy,  with  which  they  never  failed 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE.  181 

to  clothe  their  features  when  rushing  down  like  eagles  to 
the  banquet  of  the  sword !  Already  were  they  brandish 
ing  their  heavy  blades  aloft  in  savage  exultation.  Al 
ready  were  they  lifting  up  their  voices  in  the  triumphant 
psalm  which  should  preface  their  thundering  charge,  and, 
rising  high  above  the  din  of  battle,  strike  terror  and  con 
fusion  to  the  hearts  of  those  whom,  as  they  sung,  "  The 
Lord— even  the  Lord  of  Hosts— shall  hunt,  to  overthrow 
them  !  "  But,  ere  the  word  was  given  by  their  colonel, 
whose  sword  was  in  his  hand  outstretched  toward  the 
flaunting  cavaliers,  on  whose  destruction  he  securely 
counted,  an  officer  came,  at  the  full  speed  of  his  spur- 
galled  charger,  bearing  the  mandates  of  the  general. 

"Ha!  Major  Winton,"  Cromwell  exclaimed,  with  a 
raised  voice  and  joyous  intonation,  "  you  bring  us  right 
glad  tidings,  tidings  which  my  soul  comprehendeth  ere 
mine  ear  hath  caught  their  import.  Tarry  thou  but  a  lit 
tle  space,  and  call  me  coward  then,  an'  thou  see  them  not 
performed  unto  the  letter  ;  ay!  and  those  gay  malignants 
yonder  scattered  like  chaff  before  the  wind  of  heaven ! 
Sound  trumpets  and — " 

"  Hold !  Colonel  Cromwell ;  in  the  Lord's  name, 
hold !  "  the  other  interrupted  him,  with  half  frightened 
energy  of  zeal ;  "you  do  misapprehend!  'T is  the  lord 
general's  command  that  you  stir  not  a  foot,  lie  would 
avoid  an  action." 

"Tush,  man,  it  cannot  be!"  Oliver  fiercely  cried; 
"  nay,  stay  me  not ! — forego  thy  grasp  upon  my  rein ! 
Let  me  not  now,  I  say,  or  truly  I  will — " 

"  Nay,  sir,"  returned  the  officer,  cutting  again  into  his 
speech,  as  much  chagrined  by  the  impetuous  gesture  and 
half  uttered  threat,  "  you  shall  do  as  you  list  for  me  ;  but 
I  do  warn  you,  't  is  against  express  commandment  of  my 
Lord  of  Essex  if  you  shall  charge  these  horse.  See  how 
they  muster  yonder  to  the  front  of  the  main  host,  dra 
goons  and  cavalry,  for  the  support  of  this  detachment. 
One  charge  must  need  bring  on  a  general  action." 

"The  better!"  answered  Cromwell,  with  a  gloomy 
frown ;  "  the  better — an'  we  had  aught  of  faith  in  the  good 
cause,  or  spirit  in  our  carnal  calling.  But  on  his  own 
head  be  it !  Surely  the  Lord  hath  deadened  his  under* 


182  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

standing,  causing  his  heart  to  fail  with  terror  and  with 
fainting !  On  his  own  head  be  it !  "  and,  as  he  spoke,  he 
sheathed  his  rapier,  driving  it  home  so  furiously  that  the 
hilt  rang  against  the  iron  scabbard  with  a  sharp,  angry 
clatter ;  "  on  his  own  head  be  the  shame,  the  ruin,  and 
confusion !  "  and,  turning  his  charger's  rein,  he  rode  away 
toward  the  rear,  in  a  dark,  sullen  reverie,  determined  not 
to  look  upon  the  capture  of  the  guns  since  he  could  not 
prevent  it.  Nor  did  he  check  in  any  wise,  or  reprimand 
the  deep  and  bitter  murmurs  of  reviling  which  the  fierce 
zealots  he  commanded  launched  against  the  cold  and  cau 
tious  policy  that  thus  forbid  them  "  to  arise,  and  slay  the 
enemy  at  Karkar,  even  as  Gideon  arose  when  he  slew 
Zebah  and  Zalmunnah !  " 

And,  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  host,  the  chivalry  of 
Rupert  dashed  along,  with  brandished  weapons  and  bright 
banners,  unharmed  at  least,  if  not  unheeded.  They 
pounced  upon  the  cannon,  and  not  a  sword  was  drawn  or  a 
shot  fired.  Six  powerful  horses,  led  for  the  purpose,  and 
already  harnessed,  were,  on  the  instant,  linked  to  every 
gun ;  and  away  they  went,  bounding  and  clattering  over 
the  frozen  soil  at  a  hard  gallop,  while  the  fearless  cava 
liers  formed  front  toward  the  host  of  Essex  to  cover 
their  retreat,  patiently  waiting  till  the  recaptured  pieces 
had  reached  the  royal  lines.  Then,  with  three  regular 
cheers  of  triumph  and  derision,  they  filed  off  at  a  foot's 
pace,  as  if  unwilling  to  return  without  exchanging  shot 
or  carbine  or  stroke  of  sword,  even  although  victorious. 

Another  hour  elapsed,  and  yet  another,  and  still  the  ar 
mies  held  their  stations  steadily,  face  to  face,  neither  advan 
cing  to  attack,  neither  disposed  to  quit  the  field  in  presence 
of  the  other.  Noon  was  already  past,  when  a  fresh  move 
ment  was  observed  among  the  royalists  near  to  the  center  of 
the  army.  But  this  time,  as  it  seemed,  no  hostile  measures 
were  intended ;  for  a  white  flag  was  suddenly  advanced  be 
yond  the  outposts  of  the  army,  and  then,  preceded  by  his 
trumpet,  and  followed  by  a  glittering  train  of  pursuivants, 
attired  in  their  quartered  tabards,  Clarencieux,  king-at- 
arrns,  refulgent  in  the  blazoned  pomp  of  heraldry,  caracoled 
forth  upon  a  snow-white  palfrey,  whose  embroidered  hous 
ings  literally  swept  the  ground.  When  it  had  almost 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE.  183 

reached  the  advanced  guards  of  the  parliament,  the  gay  pro 
cession  halted,  while  its  trumpets  stirred  the  echoes  of  the 
s1  umbering  hills  with  a  long-flourished  blast,  calling  the 
leaders  of  the  host  to  a  pacific  paiie.  But,  be  their  errand 
what  it  might,  their  summons  called  forth  no  emotion  from 
the  stern  Puritans.  No  officer  rode  down  to  meet  them ; 
no  peaceful  symbol  corresponding  to  their  own  was  raised 
to  greet  them ;  no  trumpet  answered  theirs,  though  thrice 
it  brayed  aloud,  with  notes  of  evident  impatience.  Wea 
ried,  at  length,  by  the  contemptuous  silence  which  alone 
answered  to  his  overtures,  leaving  his  train  where  it  had 
halted,  the  king-at-arms  rode  slowly,  with  a  dubious  air, 
as  if  but  ill  assured  of  safety,  toward  the  nearest  guard  of 
horsemen,  one  pursuivant  alone  attending,  and  demanded 
to  be  led  forthwith  to  the  lord  general ;  after  brief  cere 
monial,  the  subaltern,  detaching  half  a  dozen  men,  escorted 
him  along  the  line,  requiring  him  emphatically,  and  with 
a  glance  toward  the  carbines  of  the  guard,  which  rested 
upon  their  thighs,  in  readiness  for  instant  service,  to  speak 
no  word  an'  he  would  reach  the  general  hi  life. 

Nor  was  his  greeting  much  more  cordial  when,  after 
hurrying  him,  with  small  respect,  along  the  serried  ranks, 
the  subaltern  resigned  him  to  an  officer  of  Essex's  life 
guard,  who  with  the  same  stern  discipline,  conducted  him 
toward  the  quarters  of  the  brave  though  over-cautious 
nobleman  who  held  the  chief  command.  The  general  was 
mounted  on  his  charger,  with  his  leading-staff  in  hand,  at 
tired  in  a  suit  of  beautiful  half-armor,  with  a  broad  scarf 
of  orange  crossing  his  cuirass,  and  a  feather  of  the  like 
color  drooping  from  his  morion.  The  Earl  of  Bedford 
and  Sir  William  Balfour  were  beside  him,  likewise  on 
horseback  ;  and  some  half  dozen  of  his  staff,  with  Colonels 
Hazlerig  and  Hampden,  stood  around,  dismounted.  Es 
sex,  with  whom  he  had  no  personal  acquaintance,  looked 
full  upon  him  without  a  word  or  sign  of  salutation ;  but 
Balfour,  whom  he  knew,  bowed  slightly. 

"  I  bear,  so  please  you,  my  good  Lord  of  Essex,"  the 
king-at-arms  began,  in  nowise  daunted  by  his  cold  recep 
tion,  "  I  bear  a  gracious  proclamation  of  his  majesty, 
Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God — " 

"  Hold,   sir,"  cried  Essex,  in  a  sharp  and  angry  tone, 


184  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  hold,  sir  —  to  whom  bear  you  this  message  ?  Speak  out, 
sir  —  and  fall  back,  you  loitering  knaves !  back  with  you 
all !  back  out  of  earshot ! "  as  he  perceived  the  troopers 
of  his  body-guard  crowding  a  little  forward,  as  if  to  mark 
what  passed. 

"Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God — "  continued  the  bold 
speaker,  resuming,  even  where  he  had  been  before  cut 
short,  the  thread  of  his  discourse. 

"  To  whom  —  to  whom,  I  say,  bear  you  this  message  ?  " 
exclaimed  Essex,  in  tones  of  fierce  excitement,  the  blood 
rushing  in  crimson  to  his  brow.  "  To  whom,  save  me, 
dare  you  bear  any  word  ?  " 

"  To  all,"  he  answered,  calmly  —  "  to  all  men  present 
here  bear  I  his  majesty's  most  merciful- — " 

"Silence,  aiidacious!  "  thundered  the  general ;  "  silence, 
if  thou  beest  not  aweary  of  thy  life !  Knowest  thou 
not,  William  le  Neve,  knowest  thou  not,  that  for  this 
breach  of  every  law  of  war  and  nations  I  might  cause 
thee  hang  ?  —  hang  like  a  dog  upon  the  nearest  tree,  for 
all  thy  painted  mummery!  Away  with  him,  sir,"  he 
continued,  after  a  short  pause,  as  if  ashamed  of  his  dis 
play  of  violence,  addressing  the  officer  who  had  escorted 
him,  "  away  with  him !  —  see  him  a  hundred  yards  be 
yond  our  outposts ;  and  if  he  do  but  breathe  too  loudly, 
shoot  him  upon  the  instant.  I  do  profess,"  he  added,  turn 
ing  again  to  the  abashed  and  silent  messenger,  "  I  do  pro 
fess  to  you,  you  have  incurred  a  very  fearful  risk ;  but,  that 
you  may  not  lack  an  answer,  say  to  your  master  that  we 
have  drawn  our  swords  at  bidding  of  the  parliament,  and  in 
behalf  of  those  ancestral  liberties,  which  we  will  either 
transmit  free  and  unfettered  to  our  children,  or  lose  to 
gether  with  our  lives  !  —  thou  hast  thine  answer." 

And  with  even  more  precaution  than  he  had  been  ad 
mitted  was  he  led  back  to  join  his  followers  by  a  stout 
squadron  of  the  general's  lifeguard,  who,  halting  at  some 
twenty  yards  from  the  confused  and  trembling  pursui 
vants,  deliberately  blew  their  matches  and  levelled  their 
short  harquebusses  !  Startled  at  this  manoeuvre,  it  need 
ed  little — when  the  officer  informed  them,  "That,  an'  they 
were  not  a  full  flight-shot  on  their  route  before  three 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE.  185 

minutes,  he  should  fire  a  volley  on  them — "  to  send  them 
at  a  furious  gallop  scattering  toward  the  king's  array. 

This  was  the  last  attempt ;  and,  ere  an  hour  had  elapsed, 
the  guns  and  carriages  of  the  king's  host  were  drawn  off 
by  the  road  to  Edgecot,  his  late  quarters ;  and  Essex,  on 
beholding  their  retreat,  was  no  less  willing  to  lead  away 
toward  Warwick  his  wearied  and  disheartened  army, 
abandoning  thereby  to  Charles  the  access  to  the  capital, 
which  he  had  marched,  and  even  risked  a  battle,  to  de 
fend,  whenever  he  should  choose  to  profit  by  the  errors 
of  his  enemy. 

Scarce  had  the  orders  for  this  movement  been  delivered, 
before  a  trooper  galloped  up  to  Arden's  post,  gave  him  a 
packet,  and,  without  waiting  a  reply,  dashed  spurs  into 
his  horse,  and  was  already  out  of  sight  ere  Edgar  had  dis 
cerned  its  purport.  It  was  a  mandate  from  the  general 
in  council,  directing  him  to  join  his  force  to  that  of  Col 
onel  Cromwell,  and  place  himself  at  once  at  his  disposal ; 
and  he  had  hardly  read  it  through  when  Oliver  himself 
rode  up. 

"  You  have  received,"  he  said  —  "  you  have  received 
already,  as  I  see,  those  tidings,  which,  trusting  that  they 
may  not  be  displeasing,  and  that  so  you  be  not  rendered 
an  unwilling  instrument  in  this  great  cause,  I  have  come 
hither  to  communicate.  I  am  detached  forthwith  to 
march  with  mine  own  ironsides  and  with  your  gallant 
horse  for  Cambridge,  thence  to  protect  the  safety  of  the 
eastern  counties ;  and  verily  I  do  rejoice,  for  my  soul 
sickeneth  at  coward  councils ;  and,  so  long  as  we  tarry 
here,  we  be  not  like,  I  trow,  to  meet  with  brave  ones. 
Come  with  me,  Edgar  Arden,  and  I  tell  thee  that  we  can 
achieve  great  things  for  the  deliverance  of  this  groaning 
land ;  yea !  and  work  more  for  its  regeneration,  with  our 
poor  hundreds  and  the  Lord's  hand,  which  of  a  very  deed 
shall  smite  on  our  side,  frail  vessels  though  we  be  and 
faithless,  more  to  advance  the  liberties  of  England,  than 
Essex  with  his  tens  of  thousands ! " 


186  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     LOVE     OF     WOMAN. 

"Not  for  my  life!  not  though  the  hosts  of  heaven 
Bend  down  their  knees  in  suppliance  at  my  feet, 
And  woo  rne  to  consent,  shall  one  poor  coin 
Defile  my  palm  of  what  is  his  by  right — 
His  heritage — bequeathed  i'  the  "olden  time 
From  honored  sire  to  son,  and  last  to  him, 
Most  honored,  who  sfwuld  heir  it  now;  as  free 
As  his  great  soul — and  shall,  by  Heaven,  for  me  I" 

IT  was  a  sharp  clear  evening,  some  two  months  later 
than  the  undecided  action  of  Edgehill,  while  both  the  ar 
mies  were  lying  in  their  winter  quarters  —  that  of  the 
king  at  Oxford,  whither  he  had  immediately  retired  after 
his  treacherous  violation  of  the  truce  at  Brentford,  and 
consequent  repulse  from  London ;  that  of  the  parliament 
in  the  metropolis  and  its  vicinity — when  a  small  group, 
composed  of  individuals  the  most  discordant  both  in  char 
acter  and  outward  show,  was  gathered  in  the  oriel  parlor 
of  the  old  manor-house  of  Woodleigh,  affording  to  the 
eye  a  combination  singular  and  picturesque. 

Sir  Henry  Arden  stood  in  the  centre  at  the  oaken  table, 
on  which  a  standish  was  displayed  of  massy  silver,  with 
implements  for  writing,  and  a  long  scroll  of  parchment, 
carefully  engrossed,  and  decked  with  several  broad  seals 
to  which,  as  it  would  seem,  he  was  preparing  to  affix  his 
signature.  His  figure,  still  erect  and  stately,  was  clad  in 
a  rich  military  suit  of  buff,  splendidly  laced  with  gold, 
booted,  and  spurred,  and  girt  with  the  long  rapier  of  the 
day ;  his  snow-white  locks  hung  down  on  either  cheek, 
uncovered ;  but  an  attendant  held  in  readiness  for  instant 
use  his  high-crowned  beaver,  with  its  drooping  feather, 
and  his  sad-colored  riding  cloak.  His  noble  features  were 
knit  firmly  with  an  evident  expression  of  resolve,  although 
a  teardrop  might  be  seen  to  twinkle  in  his  dark  eye  as  he 
looked  down  upon  his  niece,  groveling  in  the  dust  before 
him  prostrate,  and  clinging  to  his  knees,  with  her  rich 
hair  in  its  dishevelled  volumes  half  covering  her  lovely 
form,  with  her  hands  clasped,  her  eyes  uplifted  to  his 


THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN.  187 

face,  her  lips  apart  but  motionless,  in  agony  of  tearless 
supplication. 

A  hoary-headed  servant  watched,  at  an  easy  distance, 
the  development  of  the  sad  scene,  with  every  wrinkled 
feature  telling  of  his  affectionate  concern ;  while  a  stout, 
stolid-looking  yeoman,  summoned,  it  might  be,  to  attest 
a  signature,  lounged  at  his  elbow,  staring  in  rude  indif 
ference  on  the  display  of  passions  with  which  his  boorish 
nature  vainly  sought  to  sympathize,  and  a  small  man, 
meanly  clad  in  a  black  buckram  doublet,  with  an  inkhom 
and  a  penknife  in  lieu  of  weapons  at  his  girdle,  of  an  ex 
pression  impudently  sly  and  knavish,  was  the  last  person 
of  the  group  within  the  manor.  But  without,  plainly  to 
be  discovered  from  the  casements,  there  was  assembled 
a  fair  company  of  horsemen,  gayly  equipped  in  the  bright 
fluttering  garb  affected  by  the  cavaliers,  with  the  old  ban 
ner  of  the  house  of  Arden  unfurled  and  streaming  to  the 
wintry  wind,  and  a  groom  leading  to  and  fro  the  favorite 
charger  of  the  head  of  that  honored  name. 

"  No  !  no  ! "  cried  Sibyl,  in  tones  that  quivered  with  ex 
citement  till  they  were  barely  audible,  resisting  the  slight 
force  which  the  old  man  put  forth  to  raise  her  —  "  no  ! 
no !  I  will  not  rise.  Here !  here  at  your  feet  will  I  re 
main  till  I  prevail  in  my  entreaty !  Oh,  you  were  wont 
to  be  wise,  generous,  and  just !  Temperate  in  your  youth, 
as  I  have  heard  them  tell,  and  calm  —  be  then  yourself, 
my  noble  uncle,  be  then  once  more  yourself,  nor  sully,  by 
this  deed  of  unconsidered  rashness,  a  whole  long  life  of 
wisdom  and  of  honor." 

"  It  may  not  be,"  he  answered,  quietly,  though  not  with 
out  an  effort,  as  he  compelled  her  to  arise  —  "  it  may  not 
be.  The  time  allotted  to  our  race  hath  now  run  out  !  — 
the  house  of  Arden  is  extinct  with  the  old  miserable  man 
who  stands  before  you !  —  The  lands  that  have  been  sub 
ject  to  my  name  for  centuries  shall  never  know  it  more ! 
The  Lord  gave  —  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  —  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord !  But  would  —  oh,  would  to 
Heaven  that  his  corpse  had  mouldered  on  some  foreign 
battle-tieid  —  that  his  bones  had  been  entombed  deep  in 
the  caverns  of  the  sea  —  that  he  had  died  by  any  death, 
how  terrible  soever  —  that  he  had  dragged  out  any  life, 


188  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

however  wretched  and  intolerable!  Better,  far  better 
had  it  been  so  to  have  mourned  for  him,  than  to  have  seen 
him  thus  —  a  blot  —  a  single  blot  —  on  an  unblemished 
name  !  a  traitor  to  his  king  —  a  foeman  to  his  country — a 
curse  to  him  from  whom  he  drew  his  being !  No !  plead 
to  me  no  more ;  for  never,  never  shall  a  traitor  —  a  fanatic 
and  hypocrite  traitor  —  inherit  anything  from  me  save 
the  high  name  he  hath  disgraced.  I  have  —  and  I  bless 
Heaven  that  I  have  it — through  his  own  act  of  treason, 
the  right  to  sunder  this  entail,  and  sundered  shall  it  be  ere 
sunset !  He  hath  no  corner  of  my  heart  —  no  jot  of  mine 
aifections ;  himself  he  hath  cut  out  his  path,  and  —  rue  it 
as  he  may  —  by  that  path  must  he  travel  now  unto  the 
end  —  dishonored  —  outcast  —  disinherited  —  accur — " 

"  Oh,  no,  no,  no  !  "  she  shrieked,  in  frantic  tones,  drown 
ing  his  utterance  of  a  word  so  terrible  when  coming  from 
a  parent's  lips ;  "  curse  him  not !  —  curse  him  not !  or 
never  shall  you  taste  of  peace  again.  Father,  curse  not 
your  son — your  firstborn,  and  your  only!  Sinner,  curse 
not  your  fellow  !  Christian,  curse  not  a  soul,  whose  hopes 
are  your  hopes  also!  Curse  not,  but  pray  !  —  pray — not 
for  your  erring  child  —  but  for  your  rash  and  sinful  self! 
Pray,  uncle,  pray  for  penitence  and  pardon  ! " 

Affected  somewhat  by  her  words,  but  yet  more  by  the 
fearful  energy  of  her  demeanor  than  by  the  tenor  of  her 
speech,  Sir  Henry  paused ;  but  not  to  doubt,  much  less 
to  bend  from  his  revengeful  policy. 

"In  so  far,  at  the  least,  fair  niece;  in  so  far,  at  the 
least,"  he  said,  with  a  smile  evidently  forced  and  painful, 
"you  have  the  right  of  it.  'Tis  neither  christianlike  to 
curse,  nor  manly.  But  to  this  gear,  good  Master  Sexby," 
he  continued,  turning  to  the  lawyer,  who  had  gazed  with 
hardened  coldness  on  the  affecting  scene  ;  "  this  deed, 
you  tell  me,  is  complete  and  firm  in  all  the  technicalities  ?" 

"  As  strong  as  law  can  render  it,  Sir  Henry,"  returned 
the  mean  attorney,  "  else  know  I  nothing  of  mine  own 
profession.  Since  Master  Arden  being  last  of  the  entail, 
and  now  declared  a  traitor  by  proclamation  of  his  majesty 
at  Oxford,  could  scarce  inherit,  even  without  this  deed  of 
settlement  on  Mistress  Sibyl  and  her  heirs — " 

"Never !  "  she  answered,  in  a  calm,  low  voice,  the  moro 


THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN.  189 

peculiar  from  its  contrast  to  the  fiery  vehemence  she  had 
before  displayed ;  "  never  will  I  receive  the  smallest  share, 
the  least  particular  of  that  which  is  another's — that  other 
Edgar  Arden's,  too ! — though  I  should  perish  of  starva 
tion  —  never !  And  heirs  —  what  tell  you  me  of  heirs  ? 
Think  you  that  I—  I,  the  affianced  bride  of  such  a  man — • 
would  deign  to  cast  myself  away  on  his  inferior  —  and 
who,  that  is  human,  is  not  inferior  ?  —  No,  no  !  your  tes 
tament  is  nothing  worth.  Heirless  will  I  die,  or  die  the 
wife  of  Arden !  What,  then,  avail  your  crafts  and  subtle 
ties  of  law  ?  I  spurn  their  false  and  fickle  toils  before  me, 
as  the  free  hawk  would  rive  asunder  with  his  unfettered 
wing  the  trammels  of  the  spider's  web  !" 

"Peace!  for  your  fame's  sake,  peace!  degenerate  girl," 
the  old  man  sternly  answered ;  "  would  you  disclose  to 
these  your  miserable  weakness  —  " 

"  To  these  ?  To  every  dweller  of  the  universal  earth 
would  I  avow  the  strength,  the  constancy,  the  immortal 
ity  of  my  legitimate  and  hallowed  love.  Affianced  in  my 
youth,  by  yourself  affianced,  to  one  whom  both  my  rea 
son  and  my  heart  prefer,  why  should  I  shrink  to  own  it  ? 
Weakness  ?  —  I  tell  you,  uncle,  that  I  am  no  whit  less 
strong — nay,  ten  times  stronger  than  yourself — in  faith, 
in  loyalty,  in  conscience,  in  resolve.  If  I  may  not  ap 
prove  his  actions  —  and  of  a  truth  I  do  not  —  I  may  not 
but  revere  his  motives.  And  if  those  actions  must  half 
sever  the  strong  links  that  join  us,  and  render  me  for 
very  conscience'  sake  a  widowed  maiden,  his  motives, 
pure,  and  sincere,  and  fervent  as  an  angel's  faith,  shall  at 
the  least  forbid  me  to  misjudge,  much  more  to  wrong 
him.  Weakness  ?  —  I  tell  you  I  adore  him  —  adore 
him  even  more  for  this  his  constancy  to  what  he  deems 
the  better  cause,  when  every  fibre  of  his  heart  is  tug 
ging  him  to  the  other  —  when  loss  of  name,  and  fame, 
and  fortune  must  be  the  guerdon  of  his  unflinching  and 
severe  devotion  to  a  mistaken  creed  !  Yet,  deeply, 
singly  as  I  love  him,  never  will  I  wed  Edgar  Arden 
while  he  unsheathes  a  rebel  blade  or  prompts  a  rebel 
council.  I  tell  you  I  adore  him,  yet  will  I  die  a  maiden ! 
unless — "  and  she  paused,  for  a  space,  in  her  most  elo 
quent  appeal,  as  if  to  mark  what  influence  it  might  have 


190  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

had  upon  the  mind  of  her  stern  relative  — "  unless,  by 
this  your  madness,  you  drive  me  to  do  that  my  con 
science  shrinks  from.  Suffer  your  broad  lands  to  de 
scend  to  him  who  justly  inherits  them,  and  rest  assured 
that  sooner  will  I  die  than  marry  with  a  rebel !  Leave 
them  to  me — as  in  the  madness  of  your  passion  you  pro 
pose — leave  them  to  me,  and  instantly  will  I  make  resti 
tution  to  the  rightful  owner,  if  by  no  other  means,  at 
least  by  sacrifice  of  mine  own  conscience,  mine  own 
person !  " 

"  Go  to  !  you  will  not,  Sibyl !  "  exclaimed  the  old  man, 
vehemently  ;  "  I  know  you  better  than  you  know  your 
self.  You  would  not  do  so,  were  things  a  thousand  times 
more  precious  than  these  miserable  lands  dependent  on 
your  action ! " 

"And  wherefore  not  ?  "  she  cried  ;  "have  I  not,  at  the 
dictates  of  my  conscience,  cast  from  me  the  affections  of 
the  warmest  and  the  highest  heart  that  ever  beat  for 
woman  ?  Have  I  not  sacrificed  unto  my  sense  of  loyalty 
—  a  sense,  perchance,  fantastic  or  mistaken — my  every 
hope  of  happiness  on  earth  ?  And  wherefore  shall  I  not 
obey  the  voice  of  the  same  counsellor,  and  to  a  sacrifice 
less  grievous  ?  Think  you  the  love  of  justice  is  a  less  el 
oquent  or  weaker  advocate  than  the  mere  love  of  kings  ? 
But,  since  you  may  not  be  convinced  by  argument,  nor  won 
by  any  pleading,  hear  me  then  swear,  and  hear  me  THOU," 
she  added,  solemnly  turning  upward  her  bright  eyes, 
flashing  with  strong  excitement,  and  dilated  far  beyond 
their  wonted  size  —  "  that  sittest  on  the  wings  of  cheru 
bim  —  Thou  that  hast  no  regard  for  kings,  nor  any  trust 
in  princes,  receive  my  vow !  "  She  paused  an  instant,  as 
if  to  re-collect  her  energies,  and  as  she  paused  a  deep  voice 
broke  the  silence — 

"  Swear  not,  my  gentle  cousin,"  said  the  slow,  harmo 
nious  voice  ;  "  and,  above  all,  swear  not  for  me !  " 

Instantly  every  eye  was  turned  in  the  direction  whence 
sounded  those  unusual  accents ;  and  in  the  sight  of  all, 
upon  the  threshold  of  the  open  door,  there  stood  a  tall  and 
stately  figure,  wrapped  in  a  horseman's  cloak  of  some 
dark  color,  and  wearing  a  slouched  hat  and  falling  plume, 
which  veiled  effectually,  in  that  dim,  uncertain  light,  the 


THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN.  191 

features  of  the  speaker ;  but  their  concealment  mattered 
not,  for  every  heart  at  once,  and,  as  it  were,  instinct 
ively,  knew  Edgar  Arden,  whose  arrival,  with  the  slight 
bustle  that  accompanied  it,  had  passed  unnoticed  during 
the  all-engrossing  interest  of  the  scene  in  which  those 
present  were  engaged. 

"  Swear  not  in  my  behalf,  dear  Sibyl,"  he  continued, 
doffing  his  high-crowned  beaver,  and  displaying  his  fine 
lineaments,  haggard  and  pale  from  violent  emotion, 
"  nor,  if  you  love  me,  thwart  my  father's  will.  In  good 
time,  I  perceive,  have  I  come  hither,  since  something 
of  this  purpose  reached  my  ears  ere  you  beheld  my 
presence — " 

"And  wherefore,"  his  father  fiercely  interrupted  him, 
laying  his  hand  upon  his  rapier's  hilt  —  "wherefore  have 
you  presumed,  traitor  and  villain,  thus  to  defile  these 
honorable  halls  with  the  pollution  of  your  footsteps  ? 
Have  you  come  sword  in  hand,  leading  your  canting  and 
psalm-singing  hypocrites,  to  spoil,  and  slay,  and  lead  into 
captivity  ?  or  have  you  come,  forsooth,  with  oily  words 
and  a  God-fearing  countenance,  to  preach  to  the  old  man 
the  error  of  his  ways,  that  he  too  may  unsheath  the 
sword  of  Gideon,  and  go  down  with  the  chosen  of  the 
Lord  to  strive  against  the  Philistines  in  Gigal !  Such  is 
the  style  of  your  new  comrades,  and  thou  canst  mouth  it 
with  the  best  of  them,  I  warrant  me !  Canst  thou  not 
preach  and  pray  ?  canst  thou  not  quote  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Lord  to  justify  the  doings  of  the  devil  ?  " 

"  For  none  of  these  things  have  I  come,  my  father,"  he 
replied,  in  sad  and  humble  tones,  sinking  upon  his  knee, 
"  nor  yet  for  anything  that  may  offend  or  grieve  you. 
Hear  me,  I  do  beseech  you ; "  for,  by  the  angry  gesture 
of  Sir  Henry,  he  perceived  that  his  speech  was  like  to  be 
cut  short  —  "  hear  me  but  for  a  short  while,  and  I  will 
cease  to  pain  you  with  my  presence." 

"  Be  it,  then,  for  a  short  while,"  answered  the  other, 
nothing  mollified  by  the  calm  patience  of  his  son,  "  if  be 
it  must  at  all — as  I  suppose  it -must,  for  I  can  well  believe 
that  you  have  some  five  hundred  fighting  men  of  the 
saints  to  back  you,  else  had  you  never  ventured  hither. 
Let  it  be  for  a  short  while,  sirrah,  for  even  now  I  look 


192  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

to  see  the  roof-tree  of  my  father's  house  topple  and 
crush  the  wretch  that  has  brought  infamy  on  all  it 
shelters ! " 

"  Not  a  soldier,  not  a  follower,  not  a  groom,"  said  Ed 
gar,  sorrowfully  rising,  "  though  I  look  not  that  you  will 
credit  me,  is  with  me,  nor  yet  within  ten  miles  of  Wood- 
leigh.  Alone  I  have  come  hither,  once  more  to  say 
adieu,  and  crave — what  I  have  nothing  done  to  forfeit — 
a  father's  blessing !  " 

"  'Tis  well,"  Sir  Henry  interrupted  him  in  a  cold  strain 
of  the  most  cutting  irony  ere  he  had  fully  ended,  "  ex 
cellent  well,  indeed !  So  get  you  on  with  what  you  have 
to  say,  as  I  hi  turn  will  presently  do  somewhat.  An 
thony,  get  you  hence  and  fetch  us  lights  ;  it  hath  grown 
dark  betimes ;  and  you,  good  Master  Hughson,"  he  con 
tinued,  turning  toward  the  yeoman,  "  will  wait  our  leis 
ure  in  the  buttery.  Now  ! — get  you  on,  son  Edgar." 

"  I  did  hope,"  sadly  replied  the  partisan,  "  that  your 
resentment,  sir,  had  in  so  far  abated  that  you  might  have 
endured  without  disgust  my  passing  visit.  To  offer  you 
the  reasons  for  my  conduct  were,  in  your  present  mood, 
I  fear,  of  no  avail :  suffice  it,  therefore,  to  inform  you  that, 
though  I  may  lose  much,  I  can  gain  nothing  by  the  part 
I  have  espoused ;  that  neither  power,  nor  place,  nor  bribe 
of  woman's  love,  nor  proffered  rank,  nor  yet  the  baser 
meed  of  gold,  hath  tempted  me ;  that  neither  gift  nor 
guerdon  will  recompense  my  service,  nor  aught  else  save 
the  inward  quiet  of  an  innocent  heart,  and  the  most  high 
approval  of  HIM  who  can  alone  interpret  it.  But  of  this 
enough.  This  deed,  if  I  mistake  not,  which  now  but 
waits  your  signature,  is  destined  to  deprive  me  of  my 
heritage.  My  father,  as  the  last  save  me  in  the  entail, 
and  I  proclaimed  a  traitor,"  he  continued,  turning  to 
ward  the  lawyer,  "  hath,  as  you  deem  it,  the  power  to 
alienate  this  property.  Hold !  interrupt  me  not ;  it  may 
be  that  he  hath  —  provided  always  that  the  party  which 
proclaimed  me  traitor  shall  come  off  victorious  in  the  end, 
and  the  master!  If  not,  your  deed  is  nothing.  But 
think  not "  —  and  he  turned  again  toward  his  father  — 
"  think  not,  I  do  beseech  you,  sir,  that  I  would  for  one 
moment  condescend  so  to  inherit  what  you  would  not 


THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN.  193 

that  I  should  possess.  Annul  this  futile  deed,  and  I,  the 
last  in  tail,  will  join  with  you  to  sever  that  entail  for  ever! 
Let  this  man  execute  the  papers,  and,  whensoever  needed, 
my  signature  shall  be  forthcoming.  So,  whether  king  or 
commons  win  the  day,  shall  you  be  sole  disposer  of  your 
broad  possessions.  The  son  whom  you  abhor  would 
freely  barter  all  for  one  short  word  of  kindness  —  for  one 
last  blessing  from  a  father,  at  whose  command  how 
gladly  would  he  sacrifice  all,  save  his  conscience  and  his 


icnor 


!  » 


"I  take  you  at  your  proffer,"  rejoined  the  baronet, 
without  one  symptom  of  relenting  in  his  hard  eye,  with 
out  one  sign  of  soft  or  kind  emotion  at  the  devoted  gen 
erosity  of  his  discarded  son  ;  "  base  knaves  although  they 
be  with  whom  you  have  descended  to  consort,  I  can  re 
joice  you  have  not  lost  all  your  nobility  of  soul.  I  take 
you  at  your  proffer.  Affix  your  signature  and  seal  to 
this  blank  parchment ;  for  it  may  well  be  we  shall  never 
meet  again  ;  and  here  I  pledge  to  you  my  knightly  word 
of  honor  that  it  shall  be  applied  as  you  have  said,  and  to 
no  other  end." 

A  large  tear  stood  on  either  cheek  of  Edgar,  as,  with  a 
steady  hand,  and  firm  though  darkened  countenance,  he 
signed  his  name  in  bold,  free  characters,  and  so  surren 
dered  for  himself  and  for  his  heirs  the  title  to  that  noble 
patrimony  which  for  so  many  ages  had  been  graced  by 
the  high  virtues  of  his  ancestry.  But  the  tear  flowed  not, 
nor  was  the  brow  overcast  for  any  selfish  thought — by  any 
sorrow  for  the  wealth  thus  forfeited — by  any  fond  regret 
for  the  old  home  of  happier  days  thus  lost  forever.  At 
other  times  such  feelings  would  have,  perhaps,  been  busy 
at  his  heart — would  have,  perhaps,  excluded  every  other 
sentiment.  !N"ow  it  was  the  coldness  of  the  father's  tone, 
the  stern  and  firm  resolve  of  hatred  which  had  possessed 
the  father's  heart,  that  clouded  the  broad  forehead  of  the 
son  and  dimmed  his  eye.  Quietly  he  replaced  the  pen 
upon  the  standish,  and  again  sinking  on  his  knee,  "  Fa 
ther,"  he  said,  in  faltering  and  husky  tones,  "  I  never  yet, 
save  in  this  one  respect,  have  disobeyed  or  grieved  you ; 
your  blessing,  oh  my  father !  " 

"  My  blessing  to  a  rebel,  to  a  hypocrite,  a  traitor  1  — 
I  13 


194  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

not  though  my  life  should  pay  for  niy  refusal ! "  thun 
dered  the  pitiless  old  cavalier.  "  Be  grateful  that  I  curse 
you  not !  be  grateful,  not  to  me,  but  to  yon  pale  and  suf 
fering  angel,  whom  your  false  villainy  hath  blighted,  for 
she  alone  withholds  it !  Begone !  —  why  tarry  you  ? 
Begone,  and  never  let  me  look  upon  you  more !  Begone, 
an  outcast  from  my  heart  forever !  " 

For  a  minute's  space  he  stood,  fixed  as  the  eldest-born 
of  Nlobe,  pierced  by  the  arrow  of  the  vengeful  god  — 
pale,  motionless,  and  voiceless.  The  wretched  girl  had 
sunk,  at  the  last  fearful  words,  mercifully  deprived,  for  a 
short  space,  of  sentiment  and  reason  ;  his  father  stood  be 
tween  them,  with  flashing  eyes  and  arms  extended,  as  if 
he  wanted  but  a  pretext  to  launch  upon  his  head  the  aw 
ful  terrors  of  a  paternal  curse.  It  was  but  for  a  minute 
that  he  stood  doubtful  and  unresolved ;  his  pulse  beat 
hurriedly,  his  sinews  quivered,  his  lip  paled  with  anguish 
—  yet  in  one  little  minute  was  the  paroxysm  ended. 
"  Bless  you,  my  father,  bless  you  !  "  he  exclaimed,  in  pit 
eous  and  heartrending  tones  ;  "  may  the  great  Ruler  of 
the  universe  protect  and  bless  you  !  Oh,  may  you  never 
know  the  anguish  you  have  this  day  heaped,  fiercer  than 
the  coals  of  tire,  on  the  heart  of  a  despairing  son !  Fare 
well — farewell !  " 

He  turned,  and,  ere  a  word  could  be  pronounced,  a 
motion  made  to  intercept  him,  vanished  into  the  dark 
ness  of  the  hall.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the  hot  an 
ger  of  the  old  man's  heart  relent.  "  Edgar,"  he  gasped, 
in  faint  and  faltering  tones,  "  my  boy — my  boy !  "  but  so 
low  was  the  intonation  of  his  voice  that"  it  reached  not 
the  ears  of  him  who  would  have  welcomed  those  half- 
uttered  words  even  as  a  voice,  from  heaven.  The  aged 
servant  who  had  watched  the  scene  in  silent  anguish, 
sprang  forth  as  to  recall  him  —  but  again  it  was  too 
late. 

The  angry  clatter  of  his  horse's  hoofs  upon  the  pave 
ment  of  the  court  alone  announced  the  keenness  of  the 
goad  that  rankled  in  the  bosom  of  the  rider;  and  ere 
an  effort  could  be  made  to  overtake  his  flight,  the  demon 
pride  had  once  more  gained  ascendency,  and  with  a 
darker  frown  and  colder  accents  than  before,  Sir  Henry 


THE  LOVE  OF  WOMAN.  105 

now  forbade  all  farther  care  ;  consigned  his  hapless  niece 
to  her  attendants ;  gave  brief  directions  to  the  lawyer  for 
the  fulfillment  of  his  cruel  policy ;  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  away,  self-satisfied  and  stern,  through  the  chill 
darkness  of  the  wintry  night,  to  join  the  king  at  Oxford, 
ere  he  should  raise  the  standard  for  his  second  sad 
campaign. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


WINSLEY      FIELD. 

Flourish'd  the  trumpets  fierce,  and  now 

Fired  was  each  eye  and  flush'd  each  brow. 

On  either  side  loud  clamors  ring — 

'God  and  the  cause'  —  'God  and  the  king'  — 

Eight  English  all,  they  rush'd  to  blows 

With  naught  to  win  and  all  to'  lose. 

I  could  have  laugh'd — but  lack  the  time — 

To  see,  in  phrenesy  sublime, 

How  the  fierce  zealots  fought  and  bled 

For  king  or  state,  as  humor  led. 

SCOTT'S  RoTcdby. 

THE  winter  had  already  passed  away,  and  with  it  every 
hope  of  present  reconciliation  between  the  monarch  and  his 
parliament.  Early  in  March  the  royal  hosts  were  in  the 
field,  one  in  the  western  counties,  commanded  by  the 
king  in  person,  and  the  most  dashing  of  his  generals,  im 
petuous  Rupert ;  another  in  the  north,  under  the  gallant 
Newcastle,  the  noblest  gentleman  and  most  accomplished 
soldier  who  fought  beneath  the  banners  of  his  sovereign. 
During  the  first  months  of  the  year  the  tide  of  fortune 
had  flowed  constantly  in  favor  of  the  cavaliers.  In 
March,  a  desperate  action,  fought  upon  Hopton  Heath, 
near  Stafford,  had  made  small  compensation  to  the  par 
liament,  by  the  death  of  brave  Northampton,  for  the  de 
feat  of  Gell  and  Brereton.  Rupert  had  taken  Cirences- 
ter,  treating  his  captives  with  unmanly  and  relentless  cru 
elty  ;  and,  shortly  afterward,  in  the  same  sort  had  cap 
tured  and  half  burnt  the  flourishing  and  wealthy  town  of 


196  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Birmingham.  Nor  had  the  occupation  of  Reading  by 
the  Earl  of  Essex  brought  anything  except  disaster  and 
disease  upon  its  captors.  A  dangerous  conspiracy  had 
broken  out  among  the  Puritans,  and,  though  suppressed 
and  punished  by  the  deaths  of  the  two  LLothams,  Chal- 
loner,  and  Tompkins,  had  yet  led  many  to  believe  that 
seeds  of  discord  were  already  sown  among  the  democratic 
party,  which  would  ere  long  destroy  their  unanimity  for 
ever.  A  heavier  and  more  fatal  loss  befell,  not  his  own 
party  merely,  but  the  whole  realm  of  England,  in  the  un 
timely  death  of  Hampden,  mortally  wounded  in  a  trivial 
skirmish  upon  Chalgrove  field  in  Buckingham ;  he  died, 
as  he  had  lived,  a  patriot,  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  free 
dom  ;  his  last  breath,  ere  he  rendered  up  his  spirit  to  his 
Maker,  expended  in  a  prayer  for  his  oppressed  and  bleed 
ing  country. 

Nor  had  the  partisans  of  liberty  fared  much  more  hope 
fully  in  the  north  ;  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  after  a  short  but 
unsuccessful  stand  against  the  Marquis  of  Newcastle  on 
Atherton  Moor,  was  compelled  to  retreat  before  his  vic 
tors,  who  pressed  on  with  much  energy  and  vigor  to  re 
cover  Gainsborough,  which  had  been  stormed  and  gar 
risoned  by  the  Lord  Willoughby  upon  the  parliament's 
behalf.  In  this  important  aim  they  scarcely  could  have 
failed,  had  not  the  leader  of  the  ironsides  with  his  brave 
cavalry,  augmented  in  their  numbers  to  full  two  thou 
sand  men  by  Arden's  junction,  having  already  greatly 
signalized  himself  by  the  defeat  of  a  superior  force  of  roy 
alists  before  the  walls  of  Grantham,  and  by  the  storm  of 
Burleigh  house  and  Stamford,  gallantly  interposed  be 
tween  the  town  and  Newcastle's  advance. 

The  enemy,  amounting  to  above  three  times  his  num 
ber,  under  Lieutenant-general  Cavendish,  the  brother  of 
the  marquis,  flushed  with  their  late  success,  composed  of 
picked  men  for  the  most,  officered  by  gentlemen  of  equal 
gallantry  and  rank,  and  animated  by  the  highest  spirit  of 
loyal  bravery,  had  occupied  a  station  so  commanding  that 
they  could  only  be  assailed  by  passing  through  a  gateway, 
and  charging  up  a  steep  acclivity.  Yet  not  for  this  did 
Cromwell  hesitate  an  instant ;  but,  personally  leading  on 
his  troopers,  he  resolutely  rushed  upon  them,  and,  after  a 


WIXSLEY  FIELD.  197 

brisk  conflict,  routed  them  utterly,  forcing  them  from  their 
position  into  a  deep  morass,  and  killing  Cavendish,  with 
most  of  their  superior  officers. 

Burning  for 
neglecting 
whelming 

back  fir^t  on  Lincoln,  and  thence  immediately  on  Boston, 
uniting  there  his  forces  with  the  army  of  the  Earl  of  Man 
chester,  whom  he  had  been  appointed  with  all  speed  to 
reinforce,  as  second  in  command  to  that  staunch  noble 
man.  Upon  this  point  Newcastle  marched,  eager  for  bat 
tle,  and  desirous  to  engage,  before  the  host  of  Manches 
ter  should  be  increased  by  new  accessions,  which,  as  he 
learned,  were  swelling  day  by  day  his  ranks ;  having  de 
tached  Sir  John  Henderson,  an  old  and  well-proved 
soldier,  in  advance,  with  eighty-seven  troops,  horse  and 
dragoons,  to  seek  out  Cromwell,  and  bring  him,  ere  the 
earl  could  aid  him  with  his  infantry,  to  action  at  a  disad 
vantage. 

It  was  a  glorious  morning  in  the  latter  part  of  June, 
and  at  an  hour  so  early  that  the  heavy  dews  of  summer 
were  yet  hanging  unexhaled  on  wold  and  woodland,  al 
though  the  sun  had  lifted  his  broad  disk  above  the  hori 
zon,  when  the  two  armies  came  in  view  on  Winsley  field, 
near  Horncastle.  It  was  a  gallant  and  a  graceful  specta 
cle  as  ever  met  the  eye  of  man. 

The  scene  a  broad  and  waving  tract  of  moorish  meadow 
land,  checkered  with  many  a  patch  of  feathery  coppice, 
birch,  ash,  and  alder,  tufts  of  furze  full  of  its  golden  bloom, 
and  waving  fern,  and  here  and  there  a  bare  gray  rock 
peering  above  the  soil,  or  a  clear  pool  of  water  reflecting 
the  white  clouds  that  hung  aloft  all  motionless  in  the  blue 
firmament ;  and  over  this  romantic  champaign  there  might 
be  seen  maneuvering  a  magnificent  array  of  horse,  four 
thousand  at  the  least  in  numbers,  contracting  or  extend 
ing  their  bright  squadrons,  now  closing  up  into  column 
and  now  deploying  into  line,  as  best  they  might  among 
the  obstacles  of  this  their  battle-ground.  Their  polished 
armor  and  their  many  colored  scarfs  now  flashed  out  viv 
idly  as  the  sunshine  kissed  their  masses  with  its  golden 
light,  now  sobered  into  mellower  hues  as  some  great  cloud 


198  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

would  flit  across  the  sky  and  cast  its  sweeping  shadow 
over  them.  Their  trumpets  ever  and  anon  wakened  the 
echoes  of  the  woodlands,  that  surrounded  them  on  every 
side,  with  their  exulting  notes,  and  their  gay  standards  flut 
tered  in  the  breeze.  Their  gallant  chargers,  arched  their 
necks  against  the  curb*  bounded  and  curvetted  along  as 
if  they  panted  for  the  onset ;  while  toward  the  eastern 
limits  of  the  plain,  upon  a  gentle  elevation,  flanked  on  the 
one  side  by  the  gully  of  a  deep  and  stony  brook,  and  on 
the  other  by  a  coppice,  tangled  with  ancient  thorns,  and 
matted  with  wild  rose  briers,  which  protected  likewise 
the  whole  rear  of  his  position,  Cromwell  had  formed  his 
line. 

Nor,  though  inferior  far  in  numbers,  and  lacking  all  that 
chivalrous  and  splendid  decoration  which  their  floating 
plumes  and  gorgeous  dresses  lent  to  the  cavaliers,  could 
his  dark  squadrons  have  been  looked  upon  without  atten 
tion,  ay !  and  admiration  also,  by  the  most  unromantic  of 
observers.  The  admirable  discipline  and  perfect  armature 
of  the  stern  zealots  who  composed  the  ranks,  the  plain 
but  soldierly  and  bright  accoutrements,  the  horses,  supe 
rior  even  to  the  chargers  of  the  royalists  in  blood  and 
bone  and  beauty,  and,,  above  all,  in  that  precise  and  jeal 
ous  grooming,  without  which  all  the  rest  are  little  worth, 
the  grim  and  stubborn  countenances  of  the  riders,  some 
animated  with  a  fiery  zeal  that  would  have  smiled  exult- 
ingly  upon  the  stake  of  martyrdom,  some  lowering  with 
a  dark  and  sullen  scowl,  but  all  severe  and  resolute  and 
dauntless.  A  single  glance  sufficed  to  tell  that  every 
battle-field  to  them  must  be  a  triumph  or  a  grave. 

Silent  they  stood  and  motionless,  their  long  array 
drawn  up,  two  deep,  by  squadrons  at  brief  intervals,  sol 
emn  and  voiceless,  presenting  a  strange  contrast  to  the 
shifting  movements  and  the  intricate  manrcuvres  of  their 
approaching  enemy.  Not  a  man  moved  in  his  saddle,  not 
a  sound  broke  the  quiet  of  their  discipline,  save  now  and 
then  the  stamp  and  neigh  of  an  unruly  charger,  or  the 
sharp  clatter  of  his  steel  caparison. 

And  now  the  cavaliers,  within  a  short  mile's  distance, 
having  already  cleared  the  broken  ground,  might  be  seen 
halting  on  the  farther  verge  of  the  smooth  space  which 


WINSSEY  FIELD.  199 

swept  away  toward  them  in  a  gentle  slope,  umnarred  by 
bush,  or  brake,  or  obstacle  of  any  kind  to  the  career  of 
the  most  timid  rider ;  when,  with  some  three  or  four  of 
his  most  trusty  captains,  Cromwell  advanced  before  his 
lines.  Of  stout,  ungainly  stature  when  dismounted,  none 
showed  to  more  advantage  on  his  warhorse,  and  in  full 
caparison  of  battle,  than  did  the  colonel  of  the  ironsides. 
It  was  not  that  his  seat  was  graceful,  or  that  he  ruled  his 
charger  with  the  ease  of  the  manege,  but  that  he  swayed 
him  with  an  absolute  dominion,  which  seemed  to  arise 
rather  from  his  mere  volition  than  from  the  exercise  of 
strength  or  skill.  His  whole  soul  seemed  engrossed  by 
the  approaching  conflict,  careless  of  self,  exalted,  and  en- 
thusiastical.  His  eyes  flashed  with  a  brightness  almost  su 
pernatural  from  the  dark  shadow  of  his  morion,  and  his 
whole  visage  wore  an  aspect  so  irradiate  with  energy  and 
mind,  that  Edgar  wondered  how  he  ever  could  have 
deemed  him  ill-favored  or  ungraceful. 

His  horse,  a  superb  black,  bore  him  as  if  he  too  were 
conscious  of  Divine  authority ;  and  such  was  the  com 
manding  greatness  of  his  whole  appearance,  that  no  hu 
man  eye  could  have  descended  to  remark  the  plainness 
of  his  war  array.  Of  the  small  group  of  officers,  who  rode 
beside  the  bridle  of  their  leader,  the  most  were  ordinary 
looking  men,  burghers  of  Huntingdon,  or  small  esquires 
of  the  surrounding  country,  selected  for  the  stations 
which  they  occupied,  by  the  wise  politician  who  had  lev 
ied  them,  on  account  of  those  morose  and  gloomy  tenets 
which,  with  an  early  prescience,  he  discovered  to  be  the 
only  power  that  might  cope  with  the  high  spirit  of  the 
gentlemen  who  formed  the  bulk  of  their  antagonists. 
These  were  the  men  who  affected  or  imagined  visions 
and  transports ;  who  believed  themselves  predestined  in 
struments,  and  deemed  that  in  the  slaying  of  malignants 
they  were  doing  an  especial  service  to  the  God  whose 
chosen  servants  they  declared  themselves,  with  a  faith  in 
the  truth  of  the  assertion  which  rendered  them  almost 
invincible. 

Among  these  plain  and  heavy  looking  soldiers,  the  form 
of  Arden — high  born,  and  full  of  the  intuitive  and  un 
taught  grace  of  noble  blood,  gallantly  armed  and  hand- 


200  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

somely  attired,  for  lie  was  not  one  of  those  who  fancied  that 
the  approbation  of  Heaven  could  be  won  by  a  rusty  cors 
let  or  an  ill-blacked  boot,  mounted  on  a  dark  chestnut 
horse,  thorough  bred,  yet  powerful  enough  to  bear  a  man- 
at-arms  fully  accoutred  through  the  longest  day — showed 
like  a  glorious  falcon  among  a  tribe  of  buzzards.  Yet 
even  he,  handsome  and  young  and  fairly  clad,  filled  not 
the  eye  like  the  majestic  person  of  his  colonel.  At  a 
quick  trot  they  swept  along  the  lines,  inspecting  their 
array,  with  now  a  word  of  commendation,  and  now  a 
short  reproof,  to  the  dark  fanatics  who  had  been  chosen 
lance-spesades  or  sergeants  for  their  savage  and  enthusi 
astic  humor.  Just  as  they  finished  their  career,^ a  long 
and  cheery  shout,  accompanied  and  blended  with  the 
clang  of  kettle-drums  and  the  shrill  flourish  of  trumpets, 
burst  from  the  columns  of  the  cavaliers,  now  wheeling 
into  line  and  eager  for  the  onset. 

No  shout  or  burst  of  instruments  replied  from  the  par 
liamentarians  ;  but  their  leader,  at  the  sound,  cheeking 
his  charger  from  his  speed  till  he  reared  bolt  upright, 
threw  forth  his  arm  with  a  proud  gesture  of  defiance ; 
"Brethren,"  he  called  aloud,  in  accents  harsh  but  clearly 
audible,  and  thrilling  to  the  heart — "  Brethren  and  fellow- 
soldiers  in  the  Lord,  the  men  of  Belial  are  before  you,  the 
persecutors  of  the  saints,  the  spillcrs  of  the  innocent 
blood,  godless  and  desperate,  slayers  of  babes  and  suck 
lings,  ravishers  of  maids  and  matrons,  revilers  of  the 
prophets  and  the  law,  accursed  of  the  Lord  Jehovah! 
Wherefore,  faint  not,  nor  be  of  feeble  heart,  for  surely 
on  this  day  shall  the  Lord  yield  them  up  into  your  hands, 
that  ye  may  work  his  vengeance  on  their  heads,  and  exe 
cute  his  judgments.  For  said  he  not  of  old,  '  Lo !  I  will 
tread  them  in  my  anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury ; 
and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and 
I  will  stain  all  my  raiment.  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is 
in  my  heart,  and  the  year  of  my  redeemed  is  come !  > 
So  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Amen  !  amen  !  Selah !  " 

And,  with  a  deep  and  solemn  hum,  the  Puritans  took 
up  the  words — "  So  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Amen ! 
amen!  Selah!" 

"  And  are  not  we,"  continued  the  fierce  zealot,  with 


WINSLEY  FIELD.  201 

increasing  energy — "  and  are  not  we — blinded  although 
we  be,  and  ignorant  and  sinful — I  ask  ye,  brethren,  are 
not  we  the  chosen  of  the  lord,  and  shall  we  not  obey  his 
bidding?  Smite  them,  then — smite  the  idolatrous  besot 
ted  followers  of  the  old  Antichrist,  even  as  just  Elijah 
slew  the  priests  of  Baal  down  at  the  brook  of  Kishon. 
Be  strong  and  fear  ye  not !  For  lo !  the  Lord  hath 
said,  '  Ye  shall  not  suffer  one  of  them  to  live  ! '  and  who 
are  we  that  we  should  now  gainsay  the  bidding  of  the 
Lord,  even  the  Lord  of  Hosts?  Lift  up  your  voices, 
then,  that  yon  malignants  may  perceive  in  whom  we  put 
our  trust." 

Again,  and  in  a  sterner  and  more  heartfelt  shout,  the 
approbation  of  the  Puritans  greeted  their  leader's  ears ; 
and  as  he  ceased,  with  brandished  blades  and  inflamed 
features,  and  with  voices  that  drowned  utterly  the  feebler 
music  of  the  cavaliers,  already  confident  of  victory  and 
maddened  with  religious  zeal,  they  thundered  forth  their 
favorite  hymn. 

"What  saith  the  God  of  battles,  the  mighty  Lord  of  Hosts  ? 
'Ye  shall  prevail  against  them,  though  loud  their  Godless  boasts! 
Ye  shall  destroy  them  utterly,  and  root  them  from  the  land, 
For  I  will  give  ye  strength,  and  edge  your  battle  brand! 

"  'At  the  rebuke  of  one,  shall  mighty  thousands  fly, 

For  I  have  heard  my  people's  prayer,  their  sad  and  grievous  cry ! 

And  I  will  raise  my  glorious  voice,  that  it  be  heard  afar, 

And  show  the  lightning  of  my  hand — my  right  hand — in  the  war. 

"  'Wo  unto  them  that  put  their  trust  in  the  Egyptian's  crown — 
His  chariots  and  his  horsemen,  his  power  and  his  renown  I 
The  Egyptian  he  is  man — not  God — in  whom  they  put  their  trust; 
His  horses  are  not  spirit,  but  frail  and  fleeting  dust! 

"  'When  I  stretch  out  my  hand,  together  they  shall  fall, 
The  helper  and  the  holpen — yea!  they  shall  perish  all! 
Of  old  ordain'd  was  Tophet;  for  the  king  it  was  made  hot, 
As  thorns  that  in  the  furnace  blaze  or  briers  beneath  the  pot! 

"  'But  ye — ye  are  my  people— the  ransom' d  of  my  soul  I 

Glory  shall  be  your  heritage,  Jerusalem  your  goal ! 

And  the  sceptre  shall  not  leave  ye,  and  the  crown  shall  not  depart 

From  the  faithful  house  of  Judah — from  the  chosen  of  ruy  heart  1 '  " 

The  fierce  strains  ceased,  and  a  loud  conclamation  fol 
lowed  them,  solemnly  breathing  a  sublime,  yet  savage 
spirit  of  defiance,  and  was  responded  to  immediately  by 
the  hiizzahs  of  the  advancing   cavaliers,  and  the  rich. 
I* 


202  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

symphonies  of  horn  and  kettle-drum.  A  small  reserve 
of  some  five  hundred  men  was  posted  in  the  rear,  and,  in 
one  mighty  line,  the  rest  swept  forward  at  a  brisk  trot, 
the  front  rank  with  their  carbines  all  unslung  and  matches 
lighted.  Cromwell  gazed  steadfastly  upon  them  for  an 
instant ;  then  his  eye  lightened  and  his  lip  curled  scorn 
fully  as  he  addressed  his  second  in  command.  "  Lieuten 
ant-colonel  Arden,"  he  exclaimed,  "  dismount  two  hun 
dred  of  our  best  dragooners,  and,  under  Fight-the-good- 
fight  Egerton,  let  them  file  down  that  gully  to  our  left,  and 
fire  constantly  on  the  advance  of  these  misproud  malig- 
nants."  Without  a  moment's  pause  the  order  was  trans 
mitted  and  obeyed,  and,  ere  five  minutes  had  elapsed,  the 
party  was  detached  and  scrambling  down  the  rocky  bed 
of  the  ravine,  unnoted  by  the  royalists,  under  the 
guidance  of  as  morose  and  bold  a  Puritan  as  ever  levelled 
musket  or  misquoted  holy  writ.  "Sir  Edmund  Win- 
throp,"  Oliver  continued,  "  your  stout  major,  shall  hold 
your  regiment,  as  our  reserve,  here  on  this  ground  of 
vantage ;  but  shall  not  stir  from  it  unless  at  your  com 
mand  or  mine.  We  will  not  tarry  for  their  charge,  but 
meet  them  horse  to  horse,  in  onset  of  alternate  squadrons. 
I  lead  the  first  division,  you  shall  support  me  with  the 
second.  When  you  shall  hear  my  bugle  sound  a  recall 
and  rally,  then  strike  in,  and  the  Lord  strike  with  you. 
'Truth'  is  our  word  and  ' Peace.'  Amen!  Selah!" 

Even  as  he  spoke,  the  royalists  gave  fire  from  their 
first  rank,  but  at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  execution, 
and  halted  to  reload.  "  Steady,  men !  "  shouted  Crom 
well,  whose  sword  was  not  yet  drawn,  from  the  extreme 
right,  as  he  perceived  a  demonstration  of  anxiety  to  charge 
among  his  troopers  —  "steady,  men;  let  them  come 
nigher,  and  when  they  fire  again,  shoot  also  ye,  upon 
their  flash,  through  your  whole  line;  and  instantly,  al 
ternate  squadrons  from  the  left,  charge  on  them  ere  they 
may  reload !  " 

Scarce  had  he  ended  ere  the  line  again  advanced  on  a 
hard  trot ;  a  single  shot  rang  from  the  gulley,  broken  and 
fringed  with  thorns  and  alder-bushes;  another,  and  an 
other  ;  a  rapid  and  continuous  fire  of  skirmishers,  picking 
off  half  a  score  of  officers,  and  throwing  the  right  wing 


WINSLEY  FIELD.  203 

of  the  royalists  into  some  slight  confusion.  On,  however, 
they  still  came,  their  banners  rustling,  and  their  gay 
plumes  and  baldrics  fluttering  in  the  wind,  while,  trusting 
to  make  such  impression  on  the  main  host  of  the  Puri 
tans  as  should  cause  their  ambuscade  to  be  of  no  effect, 
they  hurried  to  the  onset.  On  they  came,  resolute  and 
dauntless.  Their  bugle  sounded  for  the  gallop — for  the 
charge !  and,  at  the  latter  call,  again  the  levelled  carbines 
rose  to  the  riders'  cheeks ;  a  bright  flash  ran  along  their 
line,  and  a  dense  veil  of  smoke  covered  their  orderly  and 
brilliant  front.  Before  it  cleared  away,  the  scattering 
volley  of  the  Puritans,  poured  in  with  a  deliberate  aim, 
made  fearful  havoc  in  their  ranks,  and  on  the  instant,  cast 
ing  aside  their  matchlocks  and  whirling  their  long  rapiers 
from  the  scabbards,  one  half  the  squadrons  of  the  parlia 
ment  hurled  themselves  furiously  upon  the  advancing  foe. 
Eagerly,  anxiously  did  Edgar  gaze  upon  the  charge. 
On  went  the  colonel  of  the  ironsides,  three  horses'  length 
in  front  of  his  division,  and  all  as  gallantly  out  dashed  a 
leader  of  the  king's  to  meet  him.  They  met,  and  it  was 
but  an  instant  ere  the  charger  of  the  royalist  ran  master- 
less,  and  its  unhappy  owner  rolled,  weltering  in  his  blood, 
beneath  the  trampling  hoofs  of  the  fierce  Puritans. 
There  was  no  faltering,  no  doubt  in  either  line ;  forward 
they  rushed,  all  straining  to  the  charge,  their  horses 
foaming  and  struggling  against  the  bit,  and  their  swords 
flashing  in  the  sunlight.  Edgar  unsheathed  his  rapier,  for 
now  a  horse's  length  scarce  intervened  ;  yet  neither  host 
had  paused  nor  turned  aside.  And  now  they  were  en 
countering,  when  the  front  rank  of  the  cavaliers  threw  in 
with  desperate  execution  their  reserved  volley,  shaking 
the  line  of  the  parliamentarians  like  an  earthquake,  empty 
ing  scores  of  saddles,  and  hurling  riders  and  horses  head 
long  to  the  earth.  The  smoky  curtain  once  again  swept 
over  them  ;  it  cleared  away,  and  Arden  saw  his  fellow- 
troopers,  unbroken  and  in  close  array,  so  orderly  had 
they  closed  in  above  the  falling,  now  mingled  hand  to 
hand,  and  fighting  with  the  cavaliers,  whose  front  was 
bending  like  a  bow ;  the  points  on  which  the  troops  of 
Oliver  had  charged,  beat  backward  a  full  pistol-shot,  and 
the  alternate  squadrons  which  had  met  no  foe  wavering 


204  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  undecided  what  to  do.  Sword  cuts  were  glancing 
through  the  air  on  helm  and  corslet ;  pistol-shots  flashed 
among  the  mel  '-e ;  and  the  shouts,  "  God  and  the  church" 
• — "God  and  the  king,"  blended  with  groans,  and  yells, 
and  curses,  and  the  clash  of  blades,  and  the  wild  blast  of 
trumpets,  pealed  dissonantly  to  the  sky.  Still  Cromwell's 
bugle  sounded  not,  nor  were  his  men  drawn  off;  and  Ar- 
den  paused  in  doubt.  His  eye  fell  suddenly  upon  the 
form  of  Oliver  fighting  among  the  foremost ;  another  vol 
ley  from  a  small  knot  of  cavaliers,  down  he  went,  horse 
and  man,  and  the  strife  closed  more  fiercely  round  him ; 
at  the  same  instant  the  reserve  of  Henderson  moved  up 
to  reinforce  his  battle. 

Then  Edgar  paused  no  longer  —  "  Forward  !  "  he 
shouted,  in  a  voice  of  thunder  —  "  forward  —  charge 
home ! "  and  dashing  down  the  grassy  slope,  before  a 
minute  passed,  he  burst  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  un 
engaged  divisions  of  the  enemy,  and,  killing  two  men 
with  his  own  hand,  drove  them  in  terrible  confusion,  by 
the  fury  of  his  onset,  back  on  their  own  reserve.  Turn 
ing  his  eye,  so  soon  as  he  had  gained  a  moment's  leisure, 
toward  the  spot  where  he  had  8een  his  colonel  fill],  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  him  on  foot,  fighting  with  desperate 
courage  against  some  six  or  seven  horsemen,  who  were 
hewing  at  him  all  together  with  their  long  broadswords, 
and  hindering  each  other  by  their  own  impetuosity. 
Three  strokes  of  his  good  sword,  and  the  superb  exer 
tions  of  his  charger,  placed  him  at  Cromwell's  side  just  as 
he  fell  to  the  earth,  stunned  but  unwounded  by  a  heavy 
blow.  One  of  the  cavaliers  received  the  point  of  Edgar's 
rapier  in  his  throat  before  he  checked  his  horse ;  the 
others  were  engaged  and  beaten  backward  by  the  fore 
most  of  his  troopers.  Hastily  springing  to  the  ground 
as  Oliver  regained  his  feet,  "Mount,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  mount,  Colonel  Cromwell,  on  my  horse,  and  finish  what 
so  well  you  have  begun !  " 

Without  a  word  the  zealot  leaped  to  the  saddle,  cast 
his  eyes  with  a  quick,  comprehensive  glance  around  him, 
and  read  the  fortunes  of  the  day  upon  the  instant. 

"  They  are  half  beaten  now,"  he  shouted  in  exulting 
tones ;  "  one  charge  more,  and  we  sweep  them  like  dust 


WINSLEY  FIELD.  205 

before  the  winds  of  heaven !  Away,  sir ;  down  with  the 
reserve,  and  fall  upon  their  left  flank.  I  will  draw  off 
my  men,  and  ere  you  be  in  action,  will  be  prepared  to 
give  it  them  again  in  front.  Ho  !  bugler,"  he  continued, 
as  Arden,  mounting  his  brown  mare,  which  his  equerry 
had  led  up,  gallopped  off  swiftly  to  the  rear ;  "  ho !  bu 
gler,  sound  me  a  recall  and  rally  !  "  The  shrill  notes  of 
the  instrument  rang  aloud  above  the  din  of  battle  ;  and 
with  that  strict  obedience  for  which  they  had  already 
gained  repute,  the  ironsides  drew  off  from  the  encounter 
orderly,  and  beautifully  formed  again,  before  the  shat 
tered  and  disordered  masses  of  the  cavaliers  had  fallen 
into  any  semblance  of  array.  In  the  meantime  Arden 
had  reached  his  regiment,  the  men  burning  to  emulate 
the  glory  half  achieved  by  their  companions,  the  horses 
pawing  the  turf,  and  snorting  with  impatience. 

A  loud  shout  greeted  him  as  he  addressed  them,  in  a 
few  words  terse  and  full  of  fire,  formed  them  by  troops 
in  open  column,  and  advanced  between  the  coppice  on 
his  right  and  the  extreme  left  of  the  enemy,  now  near  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  pushed  forward  beyond  their  right  and 
centre,  which  had  been  most  disordered  by  the  lire  of  the 
skirmishers  and  Cromwell's  furious  charge.  So  great, 
indeed,  was  the  confusion  of  the  royalists,  their  officers 
toiling  along  the  ranks,  laboring  with  oaths,  and  menaces, 
and  exhortations  to  rally  and  re-form  the  men,  that  they 
perceived  not  Arden's  movement  till  he  was  wheeling 
into  line  to  the  left  previous  to  charging  them.  Then, 
when  it  was  too  late,  they  struggled  to  redeem  their  er 
ror  nobly  but  fruitlessly ;  for,  ere  they  could  show  front 
against  him,  the  trumpets  sounded,  Oliver's  in  front,  and 
Edgar's  on  the  flank,  and  simultaneously  they  were 
charged,  broken,  and  dispersed. 

The  action  was  over  hi  an  instant ;  but  the  rout,  the 
flight,  the  havoc,  the  despair,  the  hideous,  indiscrimina- 
ting  massacre,  urged  to  the  utmost  by  religious  fury  and 
political  rancor,  ceased  not  till  noon ;  when  Cromwell's 
bugles,  slowly  and  most  reluctantly  obeyed,  called  back 
the  men,  their  weapons  blunted  and  their  arms  aweary, 
but  their  hearts  insatiate  of  carnage,  from  the  hard- 
pressed  pursuit. 


206  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


MARSTON     MOOK. 

Upon  the  bloody  field 
The  eddying  tides  of  conflict  wheel'd 
Ambiguous,  till  that  heart  of  flame, 
Hot  llupert,  on  our  squadrons  came, 
Hurling  against  our  spears  a  line 
Of  gallants  fiery  as  their  wine  ; 
Then  ours,  though  stubborn  in  their  zeal, 
In  zeal's  despite  began  to  reel." 

Brave  Cromwell  turn'd  the  doubtful  tide, 
And  conquest  bless'd  the  rightful  side. 

SCOTT'S  Roteeby. 

THOUGH  but  of  brief  duration  and  trifling  magnitude 
as  to  the  number  of  the  troops  engaged  on  either  hand, 
yet  was  the  victory  of  Cromwell  upon  Winsley  field  of  vast 
importance,  when  considered  in  its  bearings  on  the  gen 
eral  aspect  of  the  war.  By  it  only  was  the  Marquis  of 
Newcastle  prevented  from  cooperating  with  the  royal 
forces  in  the  west,  when,  elevated  as  they  were  in  spirit 
by  the  defeat  of  Waller  upon  Roundway  Down,  and  the 
disgraceful  fall  of  Bristol,  they  might  too  probably  have 
marched  triumphantly  to  the  metropolis,  had  they  been 
reinforced  as  they  expected,  by  the  northern  chivalry.  In 
consequence  of  this  repulse,  then,  Newcastle  sat  down  be 
fore  the  walls  of  Hull,  while  Charles,  thus  disappointed  in 
his  schemes,  as  fatally  laid  siege  to  Gloucester,  which  he 
was  soon  compelled  to  raise  by  the  activity  of  Essex. 
The  desperate  drawn  battle  before  Newbury  ensued, 
noted  for  nothing  but  the  death  of  the  good  Falkland, 
the  only  counsellor  that  now  remained  about  the  king  who 
could  be  deemed  a  patriot  or  a  true  lover  of  the  English 
constitution.  The  Hampden  of  the  royalists,  this  gallant 
nobleman  fell  with  his  country's  name  the  last  sound  on 
his  lips  ;  but  fell  not  till  he  had  become  aweary  of  a  life 
which  was  embittered  so  by  the  disasters  of  his  native 
land,  that  he  was  wont  to  sink,  even  when  circled  by  the 
gayest  of  his  friends,  into  desponding  apathy,  and  "  to  in- 


MARSTOX  MOOR.  207 

geminate,  after  deep  silence  and  continual  sighs,  with  a 
shrill,  sad  accent,  the  words  'Peace — peace  !'  " 

The  winter  which  succeeded  was  by  the  cavaliers  spun 
out  in  feuds,  dissensions,  and  intrigues  among  themselves, 
the  king  remaining  obstinately  bent  on  prostrating  all 
opposition  to  his  will,  and  countenancing  such  alone  of 
his  advisers  as  urged  the  fiercest  and  most  downright 
measures.  Not  so  the  parliament  at  Westminster,  in 
which  the  Independent  party  were,  by  the  death  of 
Hampden  first,  and  afterward  of  Pym,  gaining  an  ascen 
dency  which  was  increased  daily  through  the  abilities  of 
Cromwell,  St.  John,  and  the  younger  Yane,  the  leading 
politicians  and  debaters  of  the  lower  house.  The  energy 
and  deep-laid  shrewdness  of  these  men  suffered  not  one 
false  step,  however  trivial,  on  the  part  of  Charles,  to  pass 
unnoted  or  unimproved  to  their  advantage  ;  and,  ere  the 
spring  was  far  enough  advanced  for  the  commencement 
of  a  third  campaign,  they  had  so  thoroughly  aroused  the 
spirit  of  the  land,  inflamed  already  by  the  king's  impolitic 
and  shameful  treaty  with  the  rebellious  Catholics  of  Ire 
land,  that,  early  in  the  month  of  March,  five  several  ar 
mies  were  on  foot.  Essex  was  preparing  to  oppose  the 
king  in  person ;  Waller  commanded  in  the  west ;  the 
Scotch,  who  had  invaded  England  in  accordance  with  the 
solemn  league  and  covenant,  and  Fairfax,  with  his  York 
shire  levies,  had  shut  up  Newcastle  in  York ;  and  Man 
chester,  with  Cromwell's  horse,  was  hurrying  from  the 
associated  counties  of  the  east  toward  the  same  important 
point. 

And  now,  for  the  first  time  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  did  fortune  show  herself  in  favor  of  the  lib 
eral  party ;  the  total  and  complete  annihilation  of  Lord 
Hopton's  force  at  Alresford  by  Waller,  was  in  itself  suf 
ficient  to  compel  even  Charles  to  give  up  all  attempt  at  a 
campaign  on  the  offensive.  Nor  was  this  all ;  for  New 
castle's  express  advised  him  that  he  must  surrender  un 
less  succored  in  the  brief  space  of  three  weeks.  It  was 
on  this  intelligence  that  Rupert,  having  achieved  much 
reputation  and  some  eminent  successes  in  that  large 
county,  marched  out  of  Lancashire  with  all  the  flower  of 
the  royalists,  drawn  from  the  midland  counties,  burning 


208  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

with  gallant  ardor,  confident  in  their  successful  leader, 
appointed  with  a  noble  train  of  ordnance,  and  reinforced 
by  Goring's  excellent  brigade  of  horse  from  Lincolnshire, 
hastening  ably,  and  no  less  fortunately,  to  the  relief  of 
York,  reduced  already  to  extremity,  and  on  the  point  of 
yielding  to  the  parliament. 

During  the  dark  arid  melancholy  winter  which  had  thus 
elapsed,  Arden,  in  close  attendance  on  his  duties,  whether 
civil  in  the  house  at  "Westminster,  or  active  in  the  field, 
had  struggled,  with  more  of  steadiness  than  of  success,  to 
banish  from  his  heart  the  recollection  of  his  own  de 
pressed  and  well-nigh  hopeless  circumstances.  Of  his  im 
placable  and  stubborn  father  he  had  heard  but  little  since 
their  last  interview  at  Woodlcigh,  save  that  a  copy  of  the 
document  for  securing  the  estates  to  Sibyl  and  breaking 
the  entail  had  been  transmitted  to  him  for  inspection  ; 
and  that  a  rumor,  as  it  proved  well  founded,  had  reached 
London  that  the  old  baronet,  having  been  strenuous  and 
incessant  in  stimulating  warlike  measures,  had  left  Ox 
ford  in  the  dead  of  winter,  dismantled  his  fine  residence, 
and  thrown  himself,  together  with  his  niece,  into  the  cap 
ital  of  Yorkshire,  some  short  time  only  before  it  was 
invested  by  the  united  troops  of  Fairfax  and  the  Earl  of 
Leven. 

Such  was  the  state  of  matters,  when,  on  a  lovely  eve 
ning  of  July,  some  few  days  after  the  strong  succors  un 
der  Manchester  and  Cromwell  had  joined  the  northern 
army,  Edgar  returned  from  a  reconnaissance  which  he 
had  been  sent  to  execute,  with  his  whole  regiment,  in 
consequence  of  rumors  that  the  cavaliers  had  been  ob 
served  in  force  toward  the  neighboring  towns  of  Weth- 
erby  and  Bramham.  During  the  two  days  which  had 
been  consumed  in  scouring  thoroughly  that  district  of  the 
country,  he  had  discovered  nothing  to  justify,  in  any  sort, 
the  vague  reports  which  had  prevailed  ere  his  departure 
from  the  camp ;  and  it  was  therefore  much  to  his  amaze 
ment  that  he  perceived  the  forces  of  the  parliament  draw 
ing  off  from  the  siege  in  no  small  hurry  and  confusion, 
and  forming  line  of  battle  upon  Marston  Moor,  some 
eight  miles  to  the  westward  of  the  city. 

It  was  not  without  strenuous  exertion  that  Arden  at 


MARSTON  MOOR.  209 

length  found  the  post  assigned  to  his  immediate  superior, 
now  lieutenant-general  of  the  horse,  who  was  intently  oc 
cupied  with  Leslie,  Fairfax,  Manchester,  and  others  of  the 
chief  commanders,  in  ordering  their  array  so  as  to  inter 
cept  the  gallant  host  of  royalists,  some  twenty  thousand 
strong,  with  which  Prince  Rupert  had  well-nigh  surprised 
them  in  their  trenches.  Night  fell  upon  them  ere  the  task 
was  well  completed  ;  yet  such  was  the  determination  and 
the  spirit  of  the  leaders,  such  the  quick  apprehension  and 
obedience  of  the  soldiery,  that,  by  the  aid  of  torches  and 
the  long  summer  twilight,  their  position  was  made  good; 
and  that,  too,  on  the  strongest  ground  that  could  be 
chosen  from  the  extensive,  low,  and  somewhat  marshy 
meadows  lying  between  the  Ouse  and  the  great  northern 
road.  Provisions  were  served  out,  with  liquor,  in  abun 
dance  to  the  troops,  who,  for  the  most  part,  passed  the 
night  upon  their  arms,  though  some  were  quartered  in 
the  neighboring  villages,  commanding  the  anticipated 
line  of  Rupert's  march.  Patrols  of  horse  and  foot  swept 
the  surrounding  roads ;  the  officers,  with  jealous  zeal, 
made  constant  circuits  of  the  host,  their  progress  being 
clearly  indicated  by  the  acclamations  of  the  men,  and  the 
loud  psalms  of  exultation  and  defiance  which  usually  an 
swered  their  inspiriting  addresses. 

Yet  was  their  active  energy  on  this  occasion  destined 
to  be  wasted ;  for  scarcely  was  their  host  arrayed,  ere  the 
discharge  of  ordnance  from  the  town,  and  the  tremendous 
cheering,  which  was  distinctly  borne  to  the  ears  of  the 
now  disappointed  Puritans,  announced  that  Rupert,  who, 
by  the  aid  of  better  information  and  the  exertion  of  great 
military  skill,  had  executed  a  detour  far  to  the  right  of 
their  position,  was  actually  entering  the  beleaguered  city 
from  the  eastward  side,  whence  they  had  drawn  their 
troops  in  the  vain  hope  to  intercept  him.  Great  was  the 
consternation  and  dismay  which  this  discovery  created  in 
the  breast,  not  of  the  privates  only,  but  of  the  best  and 
boldest  leaders  of  the  parliament ;  and  in  no  less  degree 
did  merriment  and  wild  triumphant  revelry  possess  the 
citizens,  relieved  beyond  their  utmost  expectation. 

Throughout  the  livelong  night  the  eastern  sky  was  red 
dened,  well-nigh  to  the  zenith,  by  the  crimson  glare  of 

14 


210  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

bonfires  blazing  in  every  street  and  court  within  the  walls ; 
while  the  square  towers  of  the  minster,  illuminated  by 
the  fierce  discolored  light,  w^ere  visible  distinctly  at  some 
miles'  distance,  their  huge  bells  swinging  to  and  fro,  a 
deafening  peal  of  short-lived  exultation.  Upon  the  moor 
a  council  was  called  instantly,  and  sentries  took  post  round 
the  quarters  of  the  Scottish  general,  with  the  avowed  in 
tention  of  maintaining  an  inviolable  secrecy  concerning 
the  debates  of  the  stern  martialists  assembled  there. 
Such  was,  however,  the  tumultuous  and  noisy  character 
of  the  discussion  between  the  English  officers  and  the  fa 
natical  enthusiastic  Presbyterian  clergy,  whom  the  Scotch 
brought  habitually  into  their  warlike  councils,  that  no 
precaution  could  have  hindered  the  entire  army  from  per 
ceiving  that  dissensions,  fired  by  their  religious  differ 
ences,  and  fed  to  wilder  heat  by  prejudice  and  national 
disgusts,  had  fallen,  with  a  perilous  and  most  pernicious 
influence,  upon  their  leaders. 

It  was  now  nearly  dawn,  when,  breaking  up  their  long- 
protracted  session,  they  at  length  came  forth.  Despon 
dency  and  gloom  sat  heavy  on  the  resolute  and  manly 
brow  of  Fairfax  as  he  strode  forth  and  leaped  into  his 
saddle,  without  altering  his  garb,  though  in  immediate 
prospect  of  a  general  action.  He  was  not,  indeed,  utterly 
unarmed,  for  he  had  entered  the  court-martial  with  but 
brief  time  for  ceremony,  after  toiling  from  the  preceding 
daybreak  at  the  evacuation  of  the  trenches ;  yet  did  he 
lack  much  of  the  heavy  armature  which  was  still  worn  by 
officers  in  high  command.  A  buff  coat,  richly  laced  with 
silver,  its  open  sleeves  displaying  the  white  satin  of  its 
lining ;  stout  breeches  of  the  same  material,  fringed  at 
the  knee  with  costly  Flanders  lace ;  and  boots  of  russet 
leather,  formed  the  chief  part  of  his  defensive  dress,  al 
though  he  wore  a  short  but  highly  polished  breastplate, 
half  covered  by  his  falling  collar  from  the  looms  of  Va 
lenciennes,  and  by  the  sash  of  crimson  silk  and  gold 
which  was  wound  many  tunes  about  his  waist,  supporting 
his  long  silver-hilted  broadsword.*  He  bore  his  trun- 

*This  description  is  taken  from  a  portrait  by  Vandyke,  in  possession  of  Thomas 
Fairfax,  Esq.,  of  Newton  Kyne,  Yorkshire. 


MARSTON  MOOR.  211 

cheon  in  his  hand,  and,  ere  he  mounted,  buckled  on  hia 
head  the  open  bacinet  of  steel  peculiar  to  the  day,  which 
an  attendant  held  in  readiness. 

Upon  the  faces  of  the  other  generals  anger,  irresolu 
tion,  and  disgust  were  variously  but  strongly  written  ; 
and  in  the  features  of  the  Scottish  lords  especially,  Arden 
imagined  he  could  trace  a  settled  disaffection  for  the 
service  they  had  bound  themselves  to  execute.  No  time 
was  lost,  however,  and  by  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  not  less 
judiciously  than  rapidly  effected,  the  whole  position  of 
the  army  was  re-formed  and  its  ground  taken  up  anew ; 
so  that  its  front,  which  had  originally  faced  toward 
the  west,  as  to  oppose  an  enemy  advancing  against 
York  from  that  direction,  was  now  turned  easterly,  in 
readiness  to  meet  the  sally,  which,  they  hoped,  rather 
than  expected,  would  be  made  on  them  from  that  same 
city. 

Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  with  his  new-levied  Yorkshire  cav 
alry  and  three  Scotch  regiments  of  horse,  held  the  ex 
treme  right  wing,  and  next  to  him  the  infantry  of  his 
brave  father,  with  two  brigades  of  Scottish  horse  in  read 
iness  for  his  support.  In  the  main  body  and  reserve 
were  all  the  regiments  of  Scottish  foot,  appointed  well 
and  officered  by  their  own  covenanting  lords,  and  two 
of  Manchester's  brigades ;  while  the  left  wing  was  occu 
pied  by  Cromwell,  with  all  his  iron  cavalry,  and  three 
good  regiments  of  northern  cuirassiers  under  Lieutenant- 
general  Leslie,  and  Colonel  Frizell's  regiment  of  Ber 
wickshire  dragoons,  who  did  good  service  in  the  action, 
posted  yet  farther  to  the  left,  by  a  cross  ditch  intersect 
ing  the  main  dike,  which  ran  along  the  whole  front  of  the 
Puritans,  excepting  a  brief  space  before  the  Earl  of  Man 
chester's  pike-regiments. 

The  plain,  upon  the  western  side  of  which  the  army  was 
drawn  up,  was  on  the  whole,  well  suited  for  a  general  ac 
tion,  being  of  considerable  extent,  entirely  open,  and  un- 
traversed  by  any  hedge  or  fence  save  on  the  left,  where  a 
long  narrow  lane  between  high  banks  and  bushes  of  old 
thorn  debouched  upon  the  field,  forming  the  only  pass  by 
which  Fairfax  could  cross  the  drain  and  bring  his  horse 
men  into  action.  The  rear  of  the  parliamentarians  was 


212  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

covered  by  the  thickly-planted  orchards,  each  with  its 
quickset  fence,  the  narrow  garths  and  gardens  surrounded 
by  stout  walls  of  limestone,  and  the  young  plantations 
round  the  straggling  village  of  Long  Marston ;  which, 
with  its  solid  cottages  of  masonry,  would  form  an  excel 
lent  and  easily-defended  point  &  appui,  whereon  to  fall 
back  if  repulsed  from  their  original  position  ;  while  on  both 
wings  the  strong  enclosures  of  the  pasture  fields,  studded 
with  hedgerow  timber,  would  present  most  serious  obsta 
cles  to  any  movement  of  the  enemy  to  overflank  them. 
Of  all  the  generals,  it  seemed  to  Edgar  that  Cromwell 
was  the  least  disturbed  in  mind  or  aspect ;  yet  even  he, 
as  he  addressed  his  ironsides,  spoke  not  with  the  short, 
terse,  and  energetic  style  which  he  was  wont  to  use  when 
he  chose  to  be  understood,  but  in  interminable  and  con 
fused  harangues,  resembling  more  the  doctrinal  discourses 
of  a  fanatical  and  Adsionary  preacher  than  the  heart-stirring 
oratory  of  a  dauntless  captain.  Nor  did  he  hesitate  to 
declare  openly  to  Arden,  when  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  troopers,  that  —  "Of  a  truth,  there  is  sore  need  of 
prayer  and  supplication  —  not  of  lip-service  or  knee-bend 
ing  —  but  of  soul-searching  cries,  of  earnest  and  continual 
wrestling  with  the  Lord ;  for  verily,  unless  he  work  great 
things  this  day  in  Israel's  behalf,  verily,  Edgar  Arden,  you 
shall  behold  this  host  melting  away  like  snowr  before  the 
April  sunshine.  Unless  the  God,  even  the  God  of  Bat 
tles,  harden  the  hearts  and  blind  the  understanding  of  yon 
perverse  and  iiery  Rupert,  even  as  of  yore  he  hardened 
the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  that  he  might  bring  him  to  de 
struction,  with  his  captains,  and  his  chariots,  and  his  horse 
men,  unless  he  do  all  this,  and  more,  I  tell  you,  we  shall 
fall  into  the  pit  ourselves  have  digged !  If  the  prince 
have  but  wisdom  to  abide  in  yon  fenced  city  which  he  has 
won  from  us,  then  shall  you  see  the  carnal-minded  and  the 
feeble-witted  of  the  host,  those  who,  like  babes  and  suck 
lings,  may  not  endure  the  rich  meats  and  strong  waters 
of  the  Word,  those  who  are  ill-assured,  self-seekers,  and 
backsliders,  then  shall  you  see  all  these,  and  they  out 
number  half  our  army,  felling  away  by  tens,  by  hundreds, 
and  by  thousands !  But  lo ! "  he  added,  in  a  quick,  clear 
voice,  strangely  at  variance  with  the  drawling  snuffle  he 


MARSTON  MOOR.  213 

had  thus  far  adopted,  "  whom  have  we  here  ?  Tidings, 
I  trow,  from  my  lord  general ; "  for,  as  he  spoke,  a  youth 
ful  officer  dashed  at  a  hasty  gallop  up  to  his  side,  and 
checking,  for  a  moment's  space,  his  fiery  horse,  "The 
earl,"  he  cried,  "  lieutenant-general,  prays  you  will  hold 
yourself  in  readiness  for  instant  action  !  Rupert  and  New 
castle  are  even  now  without  the  gates,  and  marching  hith- 
erward  to  fight  us ! " 

"  Said  I  not,"  shouted  Oliver,  so  loudly  that  every  one 
of  his  own  cavalry  might  catch  the  import  of  his  words — 
"  said  I  not  that  the  Lord  would  harden  the  heart  of  our  foe 
and  blind  his  understanding?  The  Lord  he  is  on  our 
side ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord ! "  and  instantly  he 
raised,  with  his  own  tongue,  the  first  notes  of  a  hymn,  in 
which  he  was  accompanied  at  once  by  full  five  thousand 
deep  and  manly  voices. 

"Not  unto  us — not  unto  us  be  given 

The  glory  and  the  praise — 

Nor  to  the  mortal  sword — 
Though  shrewdly  we  have  striven 

Lontr  nights  and  Moody  days ; 

But  unto  thee,  O  Lord  !  " 

The  fierce  sounds  rolled  along  the  front,  from  corps  to 
corps,  till  one  half  of  the  host  had  kindled  with  the  same 
enthusiastic  confidence  and  swelled  the  same  high  chorus. 
It  was  one  of  those  bright  flashes  of  that  brightest  talent 
in  a  leader,  the  talent  of  inspiring  trust,  of  awakening  en 
ergy  and  zeal,  of  lighting  into  sudden  flame  the  hearts  of 
thousands  by  a  single  word — a  talent,  by-the-way,  in  which 
no  captain  ever  has  excelled,  and  probably  but  two*  have 
ever  in  the  least  degree  approached  the  wondrous  man 
who  was  that  very  day  about  to  make  himself  a  reputa 
tion  with  the  mightiest.  As  the  thunders  of  that  glorious 
psalm  roll ed  onward,  gaming  strength  at  every  pause,  and 
echoing  far  around,  doubt  and  despondency  passed  rap 
idly  away;  pulses,  that  but  an  hour  before  had  throbbed 
with  cold  and  feeble  beatings,  now  leaped  exultingly ; 
eyes,  that  had  rested  sullenly  upon  the  earth,  flashed 
cheerfully  and  vividly  to  the  new-risen  sun ;  and  tongues, 

*  Mohammed  and  Napoleon. 


214  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

that  had  half  uttered  words  of  evil  omen,  and  almost  of 
fear,  now  swelled  the  warlike  anthem  to  the  skies. 

Before  the  psalm  had  yet  wrell  ceased,  and  while  its 
echoes  were  still  alive  and  ringing  in  the  air,  the  pike- 
heads  of  the  royal  foot  might  be  seen  twinkling  in  the 
level  sunbeams  above  the  coppices  and  furze-brakes  that 
fringed  the  east  side  of  the  plain.  And  now  a  massive 
column  burst  into  open  view,  their  bright  steel  sallets  and 
their  coats  of  plate  reflecting  in  broad  sheets  the  light, 
which  flashed  in  long  and  dazzling  streaks  from  their  tall 
weapons  as  they  wheeled  up  into  line.  Now  a  strong 
brigade  of  field  artillery,  its  caissons  and  its  tumbrils  fol 
lowing,  came  rumbling  up  at  a  full  trot ;  and  now,  with 
many  a  blazoned  standard  streaming,  and  a  white  sea  of 
plumes  floating  above  them,  squadron  after  squadron  of 
that  superb  and  highborn  cavalry,  to  which  the  king  ow^ed 
all  his  previous  victories,  rounded  a  distant  wood,  and 
formed  in  accurate  array  upon  the  royal  left.  Then,  as 
these  formed,  the  heads  of  column  after  column  debouched 
upon  the  plain,  their  mounted  leaders  darting  along  their 
flanks  and  fronts,  their  music  sounding  joyously,  and  the 
thick  trampling  of  their  march  shaking  the  very  ground 
beneath  them.  As  these  formed  up,  another  train  of  field- 
pieces  and  a  yet  more  magnificent  array  of  horse  wheeled 
up  at  the  full  gallop,  and  fronted  Cromwell's  ironsides  at 
a  mile's  distance  on  the  open  plain. 

By  seven  of  the  clock  both  armies  were  in  full  array  of 
battle,  facing  each  other,  when  a  gallant  group  of  mounted 
officers  advanced  a  little  from  the  centre  of  the  cavaliers, 
and  instantly,  amid  the  blare  of  trumpets  and  the  exulting 
shouts  "  God  save  the  king "  of  the  brave  gentlemen  who 
mustered  under  it,  the  royal  standard,  with  its  gorgeous 
quarterings,  was  displayed  to  the  light  breeze,  which  bore 
its  folds  to  their  full  length,  and  shook  them  toward  the 
squadrons  of  its  unrelenting  foes.  At  the  same  moment, 
from  the  midst  of  the  dark  masses  of  the  Puritans,  coldly 
arrayed  in  buff  and  plain  gray  steel,  with  neither  scarf,  nor 
plume,  nor  lace  of  silver  or  of  gold  to  break  the  dull  mo 
notony  of  their  appearance,  was  hoisted  the  blue  banner 
of  the  covenant,  bearing  St.  George's  cross  of  red,  but 
not  yet  intersected  by  the  white  diagonals  of  Scotland's 


MARSTON  MOOR. 


215 


patron  saint.  The  elevation  of  this  broad  dark-colored 
sheet  was  greeted  by  a  stern  and  solemn  conclamation,  as 
different  from  the  wild  and  animated  clamor  of  the  cava 
liers,  as  is  the  deep  incessant  booming  of  the  ocean-surf 
from  the  sharp,  keen  explosions  of  a  thunder-storm. 

Then  followed  a  short  pause,  a  fearful  and  appalling  in 
terval  of  quiet,  like  the  brief  space  that  often  intervenes 
between  the  mustering  of  the  storm-clouds  and  the  out 
breaking  of  the  hurricane.  The  faces  of  the  bravest  paled, 
and  their  pulses  beat  with  a  quickened  and  irregular  mo 
tion,  not  from  the  slightest  touch  of  fear,  but  from  the 
intense  violence  of  their  excitement.  Prayers  were  reci 
ted  in  this  interval  at  the  head  of  every  regiment  among 
the  parliamentarians,  and  many  of  the  officers,  and  not  a 
few  even  of  the  private  troopers,  men  whom  the  spirit  of 
the  Lord  had  blessed  with  the  high  gift  of  expounding 
mysteries,  held  forth  in  their  wild  jargon,  savoring  to  the 
ears  of  Edgar  rather  of  blasphemous  and  profane  phrensy 
than  of  devotion  or  well-ordered  piety.  It  was  at  this 
conjuncture,  just  as  Cromwell  had  concluded  a  long  and 
fervent  prayer,  tinctured  at  times  with  true  heartfelt 
religion,  bursting  occasionally  into  gleams  of  real  elo 
quence,  and  throughout  fixing  the  attention  of  the  zealots, 
who  applauded  him  from  time  to  time  with  voice  and  ges 
ture,  that  the  same  group  of  officers  which  had  displayed 
the  royal  standard  galloped  in  full  career  along  the  whole 
front  of  the  cavaliers  midway  between  the  armies.  The 
leading  officer,  as  Edgar  gazed  upon  him  through  his  per 
spective-glass,  was  a  tall,  strongly-built,  and  splendidly- 
accoutred  man,  superbly  mounted  on  a  jet-black  barb  of 
the  tall  breed  of  Dongola.  His  cuirass  literally  blazed 
with  stars  and  decorations  of  a  dozen  military  orders ;  his 
mantle  of  dark  purple  velvet,  fringed  and  laid  down  with 
lace  of  gold  three  niches  broad,  displayed  the  diamond  in 
signia  of  the  garter,  and  his  high-crowned  Spanish  hat  was 
overshadowed  by  an  ostrich  plume  nearly  two  feet  in 
height.  Yet  were  his  features  coarse  and  ill-favored, 
marked  with  a  supercilious  sneer,  and  an  expression  ill- 
humored,  haughty,  and  imperious ;  his  hair,  which  flowed 
far  down  his  shoulders,  was  harsh  and  quite  uncurled ;  his 
figure,  too,  though  tall  and  powerful,  was  graceless ;  his 


216  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

body  corpulent  and  gross,  "betray ing  symptoms  of  debauch 
ery  and  license,  as  plainly  as  his  countenance  reflected  a 
mind  despotic,  brutal,  and  self-willed. 

The  most  profound  respect  attended  his  swift  passage 
through  the  lines,  and  ever  and  anon  some  change  of  sta 
tion  or  some  delicate  manoeuvre  was  executed  on  his  bid 
ding  ;  but  when  he  reached  the  extreme  right  of  the  roy 
alists,  he  paused  for  some  time  in  deep  and  earnest  con 
templation  of  the  post  occupied  by  Cromwell  with  his  cav 
alry,  which  were  even  then  engaged  in  chanting  one  of 
their  vengeful  and  prophetic  hymns.  Then  sending  oif  a 
dozen  officers  on  the  full  spur  in  different  directions,  he 
cantered  coolly  forward  with  but  two  attendants,  and 
these  private  troopers,  till  he  was  distant  scarce  three 
musket  shots  from  the  grim  ironsides.  Here  he  again 
drew  in  his  horse,  leaped  to  the  ground,  and  levelling  his 
glass  upon  the  pommel  of  his  demipique,  swept  the  array 
of  Oliver  with  careful  scrutiny. 

Edgar  had  from  the  first  concluded  that  this  leader  was 
no  other  than  the  impetuous  and  daring  Rupert ;  had  he, 
however,  doubted  it,  the  bitter  imprecations  and  fierce 
shouts  of  the  excited  Puritans,  to  whom  his  cruelty  and 
his  successes  had  rendered  him  an  object  of  especial  ha 
tred,  must  have  at  once  convinced  him.  But  he  had  little 
time  for  observation  ;  for  Rupert,  in  his  audacious  recon 
naissance,  had,  as  it  seemed,  miscalculated  his  own  dis 
tance  from  Frizell's  Scotch  dragoons,  or  overlooked  the 
ditch  that  ran  obliquely  from  their  station  to  a  point 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  elevation  he  had  chosen,  as  com 
manding  much  of  the  parliament's  position,  an  oversight 
which  escaped  not  that  experienced  officer.  A  dozen  of 
his  men,  as  the  prince  halted,  had  dismounted  from  their 
horses,  and,  with  their  harquebusses  ready  and  their 
matches  lighted,  stole  on  from  bush  to  bush,  behind  the 
bank,  unseen  and  unsuspected  by  the  engrossed  and  anx 
ious  leader,  till  within  short  carbine  distance.  Then,  flash 
after  flash,  their  scattering  fire  burst  from  the  willow- 
bushes  and  the  tufts  of  flags  that  lined  the  water-course ; 
and,  ere  the  sharp  reports  had  reached  the  ears  of  Arden, 
one  of  the  prince's  followers  leaped  up  in  his  saddle  and 
fell  dead  at  his  general's  feet,  while  the  perspective-glass 


MARSTO^  MOOR.  217 

dashed  from  his  fingers,  and  the  white  plume  severed  by 
another  bullet,  showed  how  well-aimed  and  narrowly-es 
caped  had  been  the  volley  destined  for  Rupert's  person. 
The  charger  of  the  fallen  trooper  dashed  masterless  across 
the  field,  followed  with  nearly  equal  speed  by  the  surviv 
ing  soldier,  who  halted  not  till  he  had  reached  his 
comrades.  But  he  whose  life  was  aimed  at  more  peculiar 
ly,  did  not  so  much  as  look  toward  the  enemy,  whose  fire 
had  so  nigh  slain  him,  till  he  had  raised  his  follower  from 
the  bloody  sod,  and  ascertained  that  aid  was  useless. 
Then,  quietly  remounting,  he  shook  his  clinched  hand  in 
the  air  at  the  dragoons,  who  had  reloaded  and  Avere  now 
in  open  view  preparing  for  a  second  shot,  and  trotted 
leisurely  away  toward  his  chosen  horsemen. 

Scarce  had  this  passed  ere  Edgar's  notice  was  attracted 
by  the  raised  voice  of  Cromwell,  on  whom  he  had  been 
hitherto  in  close  attendance,  but  who  had  ridden  a  short 
space  to  the  left  to  give  some  orders  to  the  colonel  of  one 
of  his  own  regiments.  His  words  were  lost  to  Arden 
from  the  distance ;  but,  by  the  short,  stern  intonation  of 
his  accents,  he  knew  that  something  was  amiss,  and  gal- 
lopped  up  to  him  at  once.  The  officer  whom  Cromwell 
addressed  was  sitting  motionless  before  his  regiment,  his 
bridle  loose  upon  his  charger's  neck,  his  open  hands  raised 
upward,  his  dull  and  heavy  features  lighted  up  by  a 
phrensied  glare,  and  his  voice  rolling  forth  sentence  after 
sentence  of  unconnected  texts,  strung,  as  it  were,  to 
gether  by  a  running  commentary  of  his  own  ill-digested 
ravings. 

"  Heard  you  me  not  ?  Ho  !  Colonel  Obadiah  Jepher- 
son,"  shouted  the  general,  close  in  his  ears,  his  features 
kindling  and  his  voice  quivering  with  rage,  "  heard  you 
me  not  command  you  straightway  to  despatch  troops  to 
bring  up  the  fascines,  that,  when  we  list  advance,  we  may 
have  wherewithal  to  cross  the  ditch  ?  Heard  you  not,  or 
do  you  dare  to  disobey  me  ?  " 

"  Must  I  not,  then,"  replied  the  other,  in  a  drawling 

tone,  "  as  Balak  said  to  Balaam,  'must  I  not  take  heed  to 

speak  that  which  the  Lord  hath  put  into  my  mouth  ? » »> 

and.  turning   toward  the   troops,   he   again  went   on — 

J 


218  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  Wherefore  be  ye  as  those,  O  brethren,  whom  the  Lord 
set  apart  to  Gideon — " 

But  not  for  many  words  did  he  continue  his  oration ; 
for,  plunging  both  his  spurs  up  to  the  rowel-heads  into  his 
mighty  charger,  and  plucking  forth  a  pistol  from  his  hol 
ster,  Oliver  dashed  against  him.  Leaving  the  rein  at  lib 
erty,  by  the  mere  pressure  of  his  limbs  he  wheeled  the 
horse,  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  riding  down  his  disobe 
dient  officer,  and,  seizing  with  his  left  hand  the  collar  of 
his  buff  coat,  with  the  right  he  pressed  the  muzzle  of  his 
weapon  to  his  temples,  with  so  much  violence  that,  when 
the  pistol  was  withdrawn,  a  livid  ring  remained  on  the 
indented  and  discolored  flesh. 

"  Now,  by  the  Lord  that  liveth,"  he  hissed  between 
his  set  teeth,  but  in  a  whisper  so  emphatic  and  distinct 
that  all  around  him  heard  it — "  if  thou  but  wink  an  eye 
lid,  much  more  speak,  or  move  to  disobey  me,  it  were 
better  for  thee  thou  hadst  ne'er  been  born!  Away! 
and  do  my  bidding,  sirrah,  or  thou  shalt  die  the  death — " 
and,  as  he  spoke,  he  shook  him  off  so  suddenly  that  he 
well-nigh  lost  his  saddle  as  he  turned  hastily  away  to  set 
about  his  duty  with  as  much  alacrity  as  though  he  did  so 
of  his  own  free  will.  At  the  same  time  a  loud,  sharp  roar 
told  that  the  action  had  commenced;  and,  riding  once 
more  to  his  station,  Edgar  beheld  a  snow-white  cloud 
surge  slowly  up  toward  the  royal  left.  A  bright 'flash 
followed  it.  Another  burst  of  dense  and  solid  smoke ; 
another  sharp  explosion ;  and  then,  each  after  each,  they 
woke,  the  cannon  of  the  cavaliers,  till  their  whole  front 
was  veiled  in  wreathed  smoke,  drifting  toward  the  par 
liament's  array,  and  filling  all  the  intermediate  space  as 
with  a  palpable  and  massive  substance ;  while  the  contin 
uous  and  deafening  roar  precluded  for  a  while  the  possi 
bility  of  hearing,  and  almost  of  thought. 

Anon  the  answering  ordnance  of  the  Puritans  belched 
forth  its  flame  and  smoke,  and  added  its  din  to  the  awful 
uproar.  At  times,  when  the  clouds  melted  for  a  moment 
under  the  freshening  breeze,  Edgar  and  his  yet  more  ob 
servant  leader  might  catch  glances  of  the  royal  pikemen 
pouring  in  solid  columns  to  the  charge,  the  long  lines  of 
their  levelled  weapons  glittering  through  the  smoke ;  or 


MARSTON  MOOR.  219 

farther  to  their  right,  the  masses  of  their  horse,  wheeling 
like  flights  of  seabirds  to  and  fro,  now  all  in  gorgeous 
sunshine,  and  now  all  in  gloom.  Meanwhile  the  rattling 
of  the  musketry  was  mingled  with  the  deeper  bellowing 
of  cannon ;  and,  among  all  and  over  all,  the  thundering 
accents  of  that  most  potent  of  all  vocal  instruments,  the 
voice  of  man,  pealed  upward  to  the  polluted  heavens.  A 
long  half  hour  elapsed,  and  they  might  hear  the  battle 
raging  at  every  instant  fiercer  toward  their  right,  yet 
they  remained  still  unengaged  themselves,  and  without 
tidings  or  directions  how  to  act. 

"  By  heaven,"  cried  Arden,  as  he  caught  the  distant 
glitter  of  the  royal  standard  floating  among  the  smoke 
almost  within  the  Puritan  position  —  "by  heaven,  our 
right  must  be  repulsed ; "  and,  as  he  spoke,  an  aid-de 
camp  dashed  in,  wounded  and  ghastly,  from  the  right ; 
and,  as  he  reined  his  charger  up,  the  gallant  brute  fell 
lifeless  under  him.  "  Fairfax  is  beaten  back,  and  all  our 
right  wing  scattered,"  he  exclaimed  as  he  arose. 

"Silence,  man,"  Cromwell  sternly  interrupted  him. 
"  Wouldst  thou  dismay  all  these  ?  Say  on— but  ^here, 
apart,  and  not  above  your  breath,  an'  you  would  live  to 
speak  it  out !  Say  on !  " 

"  Fairfax  is  beaten  utterly,  and  all  the  right  wing  bro 
ken  :  you  may  not  find  two  score  of  it  together.  As  he 
charged  through  yon  accursed  lane,  the  musketry  of  Be 
lial  mowed  his  ranks  like  grass  before  the  scythe;  and  lo! 
the  sons  of  Zeruiah — " 

"  Tush !  tell  me  not  of  Belial  and  of  Zeruiah !  or,  by 
the  life  of  the  Eternal,  I  will  smite  thee  with  my  trun 
cheon  !  Speak  out  in  plain,  blunt  English,"  again  in 
terrupted  Oliver.  "  Fairfax  was  broken  —  and  what 
then?" 

"  His  Yorkshire  levies,  flying  all  disorderly,"  replied 
the  officer,  confused  and  panting  still  from  the  effects  of 
his  late  fall,  "trampled  beneath  their  feet  and  utterly  dis 
persed  Lord  Ferdinando's  foot;  Balgony's  lancers  only 
broke  one  royal  regiment,  and  stout  Sir  Thomas,  with  but 
six  troops  of  all  our  northern  horse,  has  cut  his  passage 
through  the  cavaliers.  These  are  now  struggling  hither- 
ward;  the  rest  are  routed  past  redemption  !  Lucas,  and 


220  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Porter,  and  the  malignant  Goring  are  playing  havoc  on 
the  flank  of  our  best  Scottish  foot,  and  Newcastle,  with 
all  his  whitecoats,  is  winning  way  in  front  at  the  pike's 
point." 

"What  message  from  the  general?  Quick,  sir,"  cried 
Cromwell  —  "  quick !  " 

"  That  you  draw  out  with  all  despatch,  and  charge 
Prince  Rupert !  " 

"  Why  said  you  not  so  sooner  ? "  Oliver  replied. 
"  Thou,  Righteous  Lambert,  ride  to  Jepherson  ;  bid  him 
advance  with  the  fascines  and  fill  yon  ditch  !  Hulton  and 
Barnaby,  off  with  you  to  the  first  and  second  regiments; 
we  will  advance  and  cross  the  drain  at  a  brisk  trot,  and 
—  Ha!  their  ordnance  ceases  on  the  left;  Rupert  will 
meet  us  straightway !  Forward  ! — advance  !  Arden,  be 
near  me  thou !  Forward !  Sound  trumpets ;  "  and  at  a 
quick  trot  they  advanced,  but  in  the  deepest  silence,  save 
for  the  clashing  of  their  armor  and  the  earth-shaking  clat 
ter  of  their  hoofs. 

"  Ha !  "  Oliver  exclaimed  again,  as  a  quick  spattering 
volley  on  their  left  was  heard  distinctly,  though  the 
smoke-wreaths  were  too  closely  packed  to  suffer  objects 
to  be  seen  above  a  spear's  length  distant,  "  there  goes  the 
musketry  of  Frizell ;  and  now  we  clear  the  smoke ! "  and, 
even  with  the  words,  they  passed  the  ditch,  which  was 
filled  level  with  the  surface  just  at  the  moment  of  their 
reaching  it ;  and,  as  they  passed  it,  the  dense  clouds  from 
the  royal  cannon,  which,  after  the  discharge  had  ceased, 
sailed  sluggishly  down  wind  and  hung  about  the  Puritans 
some  minutes  longer  than  around  the  cavaliers,  soared 
slowly  upward,  and  disclosed  the  whole  of  that  eventful 
field.  One  glance  showed  Cromwell  that  the  whole  right 
of  their  position  was  indeed  broken  —  scattered  to  the 
four  winds  of  heaven — and  that  their  centre,  though  sup 
ported  by  the  whole  reserve,  could  scarce  maintain  itself 
against  the  desperate  odds  with  A\  hich  it  was  engaged ; 
though  by  the  fast  and  rattling  volleys,  and  the  re 
peated  charges  of  the  pikemen,  he  saw  that  all  was  not 
yet  over. 

The  second  glance  showed  him  the  prince  in  person, 
with  the  whole  gallant  cavalry  of  his  right  wing,  ad- 


MARSTON  MOOR.  221 

vancing  at  full  trot  to  charge  him,  with  scarce  five  hun 
dred  yards  between  them ;  while  a  strong  mass  of  pike- 
men,  intent  on  turning  the  extreme  left  of  the  Scottish 
centre,  had  advanced  so  far  beyond  their  horse  as  to  ex 
pose  a  portion  of  their  own  right  flank.  "  Arden  !  "  he 
shouted,  with  a  voice  clear  as  a  trumpet,  "away!  A 
flying  charge  upon  the  flank  of  yon  pike-regiment ;  ride 
over  them,  wheel  promptly,  and  fall  in  upon  the  left  flank 
of  Prince  Rupert !  Buxton,  ride  thou  to  Frizell,  and  tell 
him  not  to  charge,  but  to  deploy  and  to  maintain  his  fire. 
For  life  !  for  life !  Now  for  the  work.  Gallop  !  ho  ! 
Charge!  Down  with  the  sons  of  Zeruiah !  Ha!  ha!  the 
sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon !  " 

An  instant  was  enough ;  his  messengers  rode  like  the 
wind;  and  with  a  mighty  shout,  that  rose  above  the 
thousand  fearful  sounds  that  mingled  to  make  up  the 
thundrous  voice  of  battle,  the  ironsides  plunged  headlong 
on  the  advancing  cavaliers.  Five  thousand  horse  at  least 
on  either  side,  splendid  in  all  the  vain  equipments  that 
cast  a  false  and  fleeting  light  of  glory  over  the  ghastly 
face  of  havoc  !  On  they  went  —  man  to  man,  and  horse 
to  horse,  panting  for  bloodshed  as  for  the  breath  of  life — 
drunk  with  excitement  —  thoughtless  of  all  except  the 
present!  The  trumpets  of  the  royalists  were  scarcely 
audible  among  the  yells  and  shouts  of  the  wild  fanatics. 
"Ha!  Zerubbabel!  Down  with  the  cursed  of  God! 
Ho !  Napthali ;  on,  Benjamin  !  Strike,  and  spare  not ! 
strike  in  his  name — even  his  own  name,  JAH  !  " 

The  phrensy  of  their  onset,  for  they  charged  like  mad 
men  rather  than  cool  and  steady  veterans,  together  with 
the  slight  confusion  which  always  must  be  felt  by  an  as 
sailing  party,  which  in  the  very  moment  of  attack  is  sud- 
dently  assailed,  would  have  gone  hard  against  the  cava 
liers  ;  but  when  to  this  was  added  the  continual  and  well- 
aimed  fire  of  Frizell's  Scotch  dragoons,  cutting  down 
horse  and  man  along  their  right  by  hundreds ;  and  when 
the  fresh  and  gallant  regiment  of  Arden,  which  —  having 
fallen  at  an  oblique  tangent  on  the  right  flank  of  the  pike- 
men,  and  driven  through  them  like  a  thunderbolt  with 
an  unbroken  front  —  had  wheeled,  without  a  second's 
pause,  above  the  dead  and  dying,  as  orderly  as  on  pa- 


222  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

rade,  and  charged  full  on  the  naked  left  of  Rupert's  cav 
alry  —  it  was  no  wonder  that  they  were  cast  into  com 
plete  and  irretrievable  disorder. 

For  some  time  all  was  close  and  deadly  conflict ;  for 
such  was  the  ecstatic  valor  of  the  gentlemen  who  battled 
for  the  crown,  and  such  the  rash  and  stubborn  daring  of 
their  leader,  that  they  persisted  still,  rallying  in  squad 
rons  or  in  troops,  when  their  whole  line  was  broken  and 
confused ;  and  still,  when  these  were  routed,  rushed  on 
in  desperate  knots  of  ten  or  twelve  against  the  victors, 
and  dealt  them  death  on  every  hand,  with  pistol,  earbine- 
but,  and  broadsword. 

Five  times,  at  least,  did  Rupert  rally  his  own  regiment, 
and  bring  it  up  to  be  again  repulsed ;  and,  in  the  last 
charge,  singling  Arden  out,  whose  prowess  he  had  no 
ticed  in  the  meloe,  he  drove  his  horse  against  him,  and 
smote  him  such  a  blow  as  shivered  the  tried  rapier,  which 
he  raised  to  guard  it,  to  the  hilt,  and,  falling  thence  with 
scarce  abated  violence  upon  his  morion,  cleft  it  down  to 
the  hair,  but  deadened  by  the  trusty  steel,  inflicted  no 
wound  on  the  wearer.  It  was  well  for  Edgar  that  at  this 
moment  a  fresh  charge  by  Fairfax,  Crawford,  and  Bal- 
gony,  who  had  come  up  from  the  right  wing  across  the 
rear,  was  made  with  equal  skill  and  execution,  while 
Cromwell  drew  off  and  re-formed  his  troops,  bearing  the 
prince  and  all  his  bravest  backward,  pushing  his  squad 
rons,  utterly  defeated,  clear  off  the  field,  and  chasing 
them  with  fearful  havoc  to  the  very  walls  of  York. 

A  little  interval  ensued  while  they  called  off  their  strag 
glers,  eager  for  vengeance,  and  scattered  by  the  melee  ; 
but,  ere  ten  minutes  had  elapsed,  the  ironsides,  though 
thinned  in  number  and  above  half  of  them  wounded,  were 
under  their  own  colors  and  in  their  regular  ranks.  Ten 
minutes  more  flew  by,  and  nothing  was  yet  done ;  they 
held  the  ground  with  not  a  foe  before  them,  while  on 
their  right  the  enemy's  whole  infantry,  whose  flank,  by 
the  defeat  of  Rupert,  was  open  to  their  charge,  was  grad 
ually  pushing  back  their  own  foot,  step  by  step,  at  the 
pike's  point,  from  their  position.  Amazed  at  this  delay, 
and  fearing  some  mishap,  Arden  intrusted  his  command 
to  his  lieutenant,  and,  mounting  a  fresh  horse,  gallopped 


MARSTON  MOOR.  223 

off  in  search  of  Cromwell,  Avhom  he  found  bleeding  fast 
from  two  wounds — both  above  his  shoulders,  one  in  the 
neck,  a  graze,  as  it  was  said,  by  a  chance  pistol-shot  from 
his  own  men  ;  the  other  a  smart  sword-cut  on  the  collar 
bone — and  evidently  faint  and  falling  from  the  loss  of 
blood. 

"  A  surgeon,  ho !  "  cried  Edgar ;  "  bear  him  away  to 
the  rear!" 

"  Not  for  the  world,"  said  Oliver,  in  a  low  voice,  but 
stern.  "  Shall  I  go  while  the  Lord  has  need  of  me  ? 
Form  to  the  right,  brave  hearts,  and  follow  me !  The 
sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon !  "  and,  making  a  last 
effort  to  lead  them  to  the  charge,  he  tottered  in  his  stir 
rups,  and  would  have  fallen  had  not  two  subalterns  sup 
ported  him  and  borne  him  to  the  rear. 

"  What  now,  lieutenant-colonel  ?  "  exclaimed  Jepher- 
son,  from  the  head  of  the  next  regiment,  as  Cromwell 
was  conveyed  away. 

"  Heard  you  not  then  the  general's  order  ?  "  answered 
Arden.  "  Each  regiment  form  open  column  to  the  right 
by  troops,  and  charge  all  on  the  flank  of  yon  dense 
mass  of  musketeers  and  pikemen  !  Thou,  Jepherson, 
wheel  round  upon  the  rear  of  yon  brigade  of  whitecoats ; 
thou,  Desborough,  cut  thy  way  through  yonder  pikemen. 
Sound  trumpets !  forward  all !  " 

And  on  they  went,  with  nothing  to  oppose  or  stand 
before  them.  Regiment  after  regiment,  taken  in  flank  or 
rear,  were  cut  down,  trampled  under  foot,  dashed  out  of 
the  very  shape  and  semblance  of  array.  But  now  they 
reached  the  whitecoats;  Newcastle's  own  brigade,  of 
musketeers  and  pikemen  mingled,  four  thousand  strong, 
picked  men,  flushed  with  success  and  valiant. 

Well  was  it  then  that  Arden  had  wheeled  Jepherson 
upon  their  rear ;  for,  as  he  came  upon  their  flank,  while 
they  were  fighting  hard  in  front  with  the  Scotch  infantry, 
they  formed  a  second  face  with  admirable  skill,  and 
opened  on  him  such  a  fire  from  their  second  and  rear 
ranks  as  emptied  well-nigh  half  his  saddles,  while  their 
pikes  presented  an  impenetrable  rampart  against  his  gal 
lant  horses. 

With  difficulty  he  rallied  his  own  regiment  and  again 


224  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

brought  it  to  the  charge ;  and,  at  the  self-same  instant, 
Jepherson  burst  upon  their  rear.  Assailed  upon  three 
sides  at  once,  they  broke ;  but  fought  it  out  even  then, 
standing  in  small  groups,  back  to  back,  refusing  quarter 
to  the  last,  and  lying  in  their  lines  when  dead  as  they  had 
fought  when  living.  Oh,  noble  victims!  thanklessly  sac 
rificed  in  the  upholding  of  a  tyrant  against  their  country's 
freedom !  slain  innocently  in  an  evil  cause !  Alas !  alas ! 
for  their  free  English  blood,  poured  out  like  water  on 
their  native  soil,  not  to  defend,  but  to  destroy  its  liberties ! 

With  the  destruction  of  the  whitecoats  the  battle  in 
truth  ended ;  for,  though  a  greencoated  brigade  still  ol1 
fered  stout  resistance,  it  was  but  a  last  effort  of  despair. 
The  parliament's  whole  centre,  now  relieved  from  their 
assailants,  moved  steadily  and  promptly  up,  pursuing  the 
advantage  gained  by  the  gallant  ironsides,  and  pressing 
on  the  scattered  parties  of  the  royalists  with  such  relent 
less  zeal,  that  they  could  never  rally  till  they  had 
reached  the  walls  of  York. 

Whole  squadrons  pushed  into  the  Ouse,  were  drowned 
in  its  deep  waters,  or  pitilessly  slaughtered  on  its  banks. 
The  cavalry,  with  Arden  at  their  head,  meanwhile  still 
drove  right  onward;  and,  wonderful  to  tell,  traversed 
the  whole  position  of  the  enemy,  from  end  to  end,  in  per 
fect  and  unbroken  order,  sweeping  the  relics  of  that  dis 
astrous  fight  before  them  as  the  surf  drives  the  wreck 
which  its  own  violence  has  made,  before  its  foaming  wa 
ters.  Then,  having  reached  the  farthest  royal  left,  they 
wheeled  once  more  to  the  right,  and  actually  occupied 
the  ground  which  Lucas,  with  his  cavaliers,  had  held  at 
the  beginning  of  the  action.  The  only  enemy  now  left 
upon  the  field  were  these  same  victors  ;  who,  having  con 
quered  Fairfax  and  his  tumultuary  levies,  had  pressed 
with  much  success  upon  the  flank  of  Manchester's  and 
Lindsay's  regiment  of  foot,  till  these  stout  squadrons, 
when  relieved  by  Edgar's  overwhelming  charge  upon 
their  enemies  in  front,  found  leisure  to  concentrate  all 
their  efforts  against  the  cavalry  which  had  so  nigh  de 
feated  them,  and  were  in  turn  repulsing  them ;  when,  on  the 
very  spot  where  they  had  first  so  roughly  handled  Fairfax 
and  his  northern  horse,  Arden  fell  on  them  unawares,  and 


MARSTOX  MOOR.  225 

well  avenged  his  comrades.  In  this  last  conflict  the 
ground  was  broken  with  steep  banks  and  scattered 
bushes,  and  the  deep  channel  of  the  drain  alluded  to 
above.  Here,  as  before,  the  fight  was  obstinate,  and 
hand  to  hand,  among  the  troops ;  when,  just  as  Edgar's 
men  drove  Lucas  back,  killing  his  horse  and  making  him 
self  prisoner,  while  all  was  smoke,  and  tumult,  and  con 
fusion,  a  small  but  well  appointed  troop  of  cavaliers 
wheeled  round  some  alder-bushes  and  charged  home. 
These,  for  a  moment,  threw  his  force  into  disorder,  but 
unsupported  and  too  weak  in  numbers,  they  fell  fast,  and 
at  the  last  drew  off,  their  leader  fighting  desperately  to 
cover  their  retreat,  till  a  shot  struck  his  charger ;  and,  as 
he  rolled  upon  the  gory  and  hoof-dinted  sod,  a  savage 
fanatic  shortened  his  sword  to  stab  the  prostrate  rider. 

Edgar's  eye  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  gray  hairs  and  no 
ble  features  that  were  now  disclosed,  blood-stained  and 
ghastly,  by  the  falling  of  his  battered  morion.  With  a 
fierce  cry  he  bounded  from  his  horse — he  was — he  was 
in  time ! 

He  struck  one  rapier  up,  received  another,  which  he 
could  not  parry,  in  his  own  sword-arm ;  but  he  had  saved 
his  father.  It  was  not  he  alone,  however,  who  had  per 
ceived  Sir  Henry's  peril.  A  desperate  rally  of  his  fol 
lowers  was  made  to  rescue  him ;  the  tide  of  fight  had 
rolled  away  after  the  flying  cavaliers  of  Lucas  ;  and  in  an 
instant,  ere  he  could  strike  a  blow  or  shout  his  war  cry, 
Arden,  second  to  Cromwell  only  as  the  winner  of  that 
bloody  day,  was  made  a  captive,  and  borne  off  at  a  gal 
lop  by  the  fugitives  from  that  very  field,  on  which  his 
conduct  and  his  valor  had  retrieved  the  fortunes  of  his 
party  when  on  the  very  verge  of  absolute  annihilation. 

J*  15 


226  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A   READY      HELP      IN     TIME     OF     TROUBLE. 


"Were  he  my  kinsman,  brother,  or  my  son, 

It  should  be  thus  with  him— he  must  die  to-morrow. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

The  outmost  crowd  have  heard  a  sound 
Like  horse's  hoof  on  hardened  ground. 
Nearer  it  came,  and  yet  more  near, 
The  very  headsmen  paused  to  hear. 

SCOTT'S  Kokrty. 

IT  was  already  past  the  middle  of  the  night  which  fol 
lowed  the  tremendous  conflict  upon  Marston  Moor,  yet 
many  a  light  was  glancing  through  the  casements  of  the 
adjoining  village,  in  which  the  cavalry  of  the  victorious 
army  had  taken  up  its  quarters.  Strange  and  discordant 
noises  eddied  among  the  low-browed  cottages,  the  stamp 
and  scream  of  vicious  chargers,  the  clash  of  arms,  the  din 
of  the  artillery  wagons  groaning  and  creaking  over  the  ill- 
made  roads,  the  moans  and  outcries  of  the  wounded 
wretches,  waked  to  fresh  agonies  by  the  rough  motion  of 
the  carts  which  bore  them  from  the  field,  watering  the 
dust  beneath  their  wheels  with  human  gore  ;  and  yet, 
though  every  house  and  shed  was  occupied  by  the  rude 
soldiery,  there  mingled  not  one  tone  of  riot  or  debauchery 
with  the  accustomed  sounds  that  indicate  the  presence  of 
an  armed  multitude. 

All  grave  and  stern  the  sentinels  stalked  their  appointed 
rounds,  or,  if  they  broke  the  silence  of  their  watch,  it  was 
but  by  the  humming  of  some  pious  canticle ;  while  ever 
and  anon  the  louder  accents  of  some  military  preacher 
rose  upon  the  ear,  or  the  deep  chorus  of  a  distant  hymn. 
No  wassailings  prevailed  about  the  watchfires ;  no  songs 
of  profane  triumph  were  bellowed  from  the  hostelries 
wherein  the  men  were  billeted ;  no  yells  of  savage  laugh 
ter  nor  female  shrieks  broke  forth  to  tell  of  warlike  license ; 
in  short,  the  aspect  of  the  hamlet  was  rather  that  of  some 
immense  conventicle  of  armed  enthusiasts,  than  of  the 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  227 

nightly  quarter  of  a  triumphant  host  fresh  from  the  shock, 
the  rapture,  and  the  glory  of  the  battle. 

Before  one  dwelling,  of  pretensions  somewhat  greater 
than  its  neighbors,  having  a  little  court-yard  with  a  low 
stone  wall  before  it,  and  a  grotesquely  sculptured  porch 
of  native  sandstone,  there  sat  two  mounted  privates  of 
the  ironsides,  one  on  each  side  the  gate,  so  still  and  mo 
tionless  that,  but  for  the  occasional  tossing  of  their  char 
gers'  heads,  or  whisk  of  their  long  tails,  they  might  have 
passed  for  lifeless  statues.  The  pale  beams  of  the  moon 
slept  placidly  upon  their  morions  and  breastplates,  while 
the  bright  scarlet  of  their  doublets  was  mellowed  by  the 
partial  light  into  a  dimmer  and  more  sober  hue.  Within 
the  court  two  more  of  the  same  sturdy  corps  walked  to 
and  fro,  with  ported  carbines,  crossing  each  other  at  brief 
intervals,  the  red  sparks  of  their  lighted  matches  showing 
their  readiness  for  instant  service. 

Within  the  house  all  were  at  rest  save  in  one  chamber, 
openirg  directly  from  the  narrow  hall  or  passage,  whence 
might  be  heard,  even  without  the  walls,  a  heavy  and  ir 
regular  footstep  clanging  with  military  spurs  upon  the 
flagstones  which  composed  the  cottage  floor,  and  now  and 
then  the  suppressed  murmur  of  a  voice  communing,  as  it 
seemed,  with  the  deep  thoughts  of  the  speaker. 

It  Avas  a  large,  low-roofed,  and  stone-paved  room,  with 
heavy  rafters ;  and  a  huge  open  chimney  of  black  oak, 
dingy  and  mantled  with  the  smoke  of  ages.  A  wide  low 
window,  divided  into  many  lattices  by  massive  freestone 
mullions,  with  a  long  settle  of  carved  wainscoting  be 
neath  it,  occupied  the  whole  of  one  side,  while  opposite 
to  it,  and  at  right  angles  to  the  hearth,  another  seat,  of 
similar  materials  but  superior  workmanship,  with  a  high 
panelled  back  and  elbows,  was  disposed  so  as  to  shield  the 
occupants  from  the  keen  blasts  that  found  their  way  in 
winter  through  many  a  crevice  of  the  time-shaken  walls. 
Over  this  antique  piece  of  furniture  a  scarlet  dragoon 
cloak  wras  flung  at  random  with  a  broad-brimmed  and 
high-crowned  hat  of  dark  gray  felt  hooked  on  one  of  the 
knobs  which  decorated  its  extremities,  while  from  the 
other  hung  a  buff  belt,  with  a  long  iron-hilted  tuck.  Upon 
a  table  close  before  the  hearth,  on  which  a  dozen  fast-de- 


228  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

caying  brands  silently  smouldered,  stood,  with  its  wick 
tall  and  unsnuffed,  a  solitary  lamp,  casting  a  feeble  and 
uncertain  light  about  the  room,  which  served,  however, 
to  display  a  brace  of  horseman's  heavy  pistols,  an  open 
map,  a  telescope,  a  worn  and  greasy  Bible,  and  a  leader's 
truncheon  lying  beside  it  on  the  board,  as  well  as  a  con 
fused  assemblage  of  steel  armor  piled  in  a  large  armed 
chair,  and  glancing  with  obscure  reflections  from  the 
shadow  of  a  distant  corner. 

It  was,  however,  the  inmate  of  the  chamber  that  lent 
its  chief  attraction  to  the  scene — a  strong-built  and  stern- 
featured  man,  clad  in  a  military  suit  of  buff,  such  as  was 
then  worn  under  the  corslet  and  thigh-pieces  of  the  cav 
alry  ;  his  cumbersome  jackboots  were  still  about  his  legs, 
garnished  with  spurs  as  when  he  left  the  saddle,  though 
all  his  other  armor  had  been  doffed  in  consequence  of  re 
cent  wounds,  as  it  would  seem  from  many  a  speck  and 
splash  of  dingy  crimson  on  the  leathern  cassock,  and  from 
his  left  arm  bound  up  by  a  silken  sling.  It  was  the  leader 
of  the  ironsides.  There  was  a  wild,  unnatural  expression 
on  his  grim  features  as  he  passed  and  repassed  the  light, 
and  a  strange  glare  in  his  deep-set  eye  almost  like  that  of 
the  insane.  He  muttered,  at  times,  in  audible  and  articu 
late  sounds,  but  mostly  in  a  half-uttered,  inward  key, 
striding  the  while  with  heavy  but  uneven  steps,  now  fast, 
now  slow,  across  the  echoing  floor ;  his  hands  were  now 
crossed  firmly  on  his  breast,  now  tossed  aloft  as  if  they 
brandished  the  war-weapon,  and  now  they  griped  each 
other  with  so  stern  a  pressure  that  the  blood  started  from 
beneath  his  nails.  It  might  be  that  the  fever  of  his  wounds 
had  terminated  for  the  moment  to  his  brain  ;  it  might  be 
that  a  darker  fit  than  common  of  his  fanatic  hypochondri- 
asm  had  occupied  his  mind ;  but  on  this  night  the  wise 
and  crafty  conqueror  of  Rupert  resembled  rather  the  mys 
terious  energumenos,  the  possessed,  fiend-tortured  maniac 
of  holy  writ,  than  the  cool,  self-controlling,  scientific  leader 
he  had  that  day  approved  himself. 

"  King  ? — king  ?  "  at  last  he  exclaimed,  audibly,  pausing 
from  his  uneasy  walk,  with  an  expression  of  uncertainty 
and  even  terror  distinctly  marked  in  every  feature ; 
"  didst  thou  say  king  ?  No,  no !  not  king !  Avaunt, 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  229 

Baalzebul !  Get  thee  behind  me,  Sathanas !  It  said  not 
'king!'  that  solemn  and  tremendous  shape,  that  drew  the 
curtains  of  my  boyish  couch  at  the  unhallowed  hour  of 
midnight — '  The  greatest  one  in  England,  but  not  king  !'* 
Ho  !  have  I  foiled  thee  there  ?  Ha — ha !  well  art  thou 
called  the  prince  of  liars — get  thee  behind  me !  tempt  me 
no  more !  Away,  foul  slave  !  By  the  Lord's  help,  I  spit 
at  and  defy  thee  !  " 

He  took  two  or  three  turns  across  the  room  more 
quickly  than  before,  and,  again  pausing,  cried,  "  A  trick 
of  fantasy  ?  Who  saith  it  was  unreal — have  we  not  ears 
to  hear  and  eyes  to  see  ?  and  shall  we  not  believe  what 
we  do  hear  and  see  ?  Did  not  a  spirit  pass  before  the 
face  of  Job,  that  the  hair  of  his  flesh  stood  up  ?  Stood  it 
not  still,  yet  he  could  not  discern  the  form  thereof?  Was 
there  not  silence,  and  he  heard  a  voice  ?  And  came  it 
not  to  pass  so  likewise  unto  me,  and  much  more  also  ? 
Again — Did  not  the  evil-minded  Saul  call  up,  through  her 
at  Endor,  the  living  spirit  of  the  departed  prophet,  that 
it  did  prophesy  to  him  ?  And  yet  again — Did  not  the 
Roman  Brutus,  idolater  although  he  was  and  heathen, 
hold  converse  with  the  shadow  of  his  kingly  victim,  that 
was  his  evil  genius  at  Philippi  ?  And  may  not  I — I,  that 
was  written  down  before  the  world  began — I,  that  have 
been  predestinate  of  old  to  execute  the  wrath  of  the  Most 
Highest,  and  press  the  wine-press  of  his  vengeance — may 
not  I,  too,  commune  with  disembodied  ministers  that  walk 
in  the  night  season  ?  Go  to !  go  to  !  I  heard  its  mighty 
accents  as  I  started  from  my  slumber,  and  they  yet  tingle 
in  my  fleshly  ears—'  Arouse  thee,  thou  that  shalt  be  first 
in  England ! '  But  not — it  said  not — king !  " 

Again  he  took  a  short  and  hurried  turn  through  the 
apartment — "And  if  it  had,"  he  cried,  in  higher  tones — 
"  and  if  it  had  said  king !  Be  there  not  lying  spirits — be 
there  not  tempters — be  there  not  false  prophets  ?  Had  it 
said  king,  then  had  I  roused  myself  indeed !  Then  had  I 
striven  with  the  Evil  One  that  he  had  fled  me !  for  to  the 

*  It  is  notorious  that  a  story  was  in  existence  among  the  contemporaries  of  Crom 
well,  lung  before  his  attainment  even  of  high  military  rank,  to  the  effect  that  he 
had  been  awakened  from  his  sleep,  when  a  boy,  by  a  mysterious  shape,  which  told 
Lira  he  shouUl  be  the  greatest  man  in  England,  not,  however,  using  the  word  king. 


230  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

putting  down,  not  to  the  raising  up  of  tyrants  was  I  called 
— not  that  to  me  men  should  bow  down  the  knee,  and 
wallow  in  the  dust,  and  cry  ;  Hail,  monarch ! '  but  that, 
throughout  this  goodly  realm  of  England,  there  should  be 
innocence,  and  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  liberty,  and 
truth,  forever ! "  He  paused  again  in  his  soliloquy,  and,  as 
he  paused,  the  challenge  of  a  distant  sentinel  rang  sharp 
and  clear  through  the  still  night.  The  clatter  of  a  horse's 
hoofs  followed — another  challenge — and  another — a  bustle 
in  the  courtyard,  and  the  sound  of  several  feet  hurrying 
toward  the  door.  With  the  lirst  faint  alarm  the  general 
was  himself  again ;  he  passed  his  hand  across  his  eyes,  and 
drew  a  deep  sigh,  as  if  to  ease  his  breast ;  then,  turning 
to  the  table  hastily,  he  trimmed  the  waning  lamp,  and, 
seating  himself,  instantly  resumed  the  studies  whence  he 
had  probably  been  hurried  by  the  ferment  of  his  distem 
pered  spirits. 

The  outer  door  was  opened,  and  several  persons,  after 
a  moment's  parley  with  the  sentinel  on  duty,  entered  the 
house.  A  heavy  hand  rapped  quickly  on  the  door,  fol 
lowed  by  a  blunt  voice — "  The  captain  of  the  watch  to 
speak  with  General  Cromwell." 

"  Enter  the  captain  of  the  watch,"  cried  Oliver  ;  and  as 
the  well-known  face  of  an  approved  and  trusty  comrade 
met  his  eye — "  What  now,  good  Kingsland,"  he  exclaimed ; 
"  how  goes  it  with  the  host  ?  " 

"  All  thanks  be  to  the  Giver  of  ah1  mercies,  well !  "  re 
plied  the  officer ;  "  but  here  is  one  without — yea,  even 
one  from  the  stronghold  of  the  malignants — seeking  to 
parley  with  you." 

"  One  from  the  town  of  York — ha  ?  "  answered  Crom 
well,  with  the  speed  of  thought;  "  admit  him  speedily — " 

"  Nay,  not  from  York,"  returned  the  other,  "  nor  is  it 
any  he.  Of  verity  it  is  a  damsel,  yea,  and  a  damsel  decked 
with  the  comeliness — truly,  I  say,  with  the  loveliness  of 
the  flesh ! " 

"  Tush !  tell  not  me  of  comeliness  ! "  cried  Oliver,  very 
sharply ;  "  of  God's  truth,  Ahaziah  Kingsland,  thou  art  a 
fool  thus  to  disturb  my  meditations  for  a  most  frail  and 
painted  potsherd — a  Delilah,  I  warrant  me — a  Rechab — 
yea,  and  a  painted  Jezabel — a  harlot  from  the  camp  of 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  231 

the  Egyptians.  Cast  her  forth  straightway !  leave  me,  I 
say — begone  ! " 

""  It  is  not  so,"  replied  the  other,  sturdily — "  it  is  not 
so,  an'  you  will  hear  me  out.  It  is  a  maiden  of  repute ; 
she  rode  up  to  our  outpost  on  the  western  road  with  three 
stout  serving-men,  seeking  the  captain  of  the  night,  and, 
verily,  when  I  was  brought  to  her,  she  claimed  to  speak 
with  General  Cromwell  touching  the  young  man  Edgar 
Arden — " 

"  Whom,  of  a  truth,  my  spirit  loveth.  Admit  her,  and 
that,  too,  without  tarrying ;  and  bid  them  fetch  in  fuel, 
for  lo  !  the  fire  hath  burnt  low  while  I  did  watch  and  pray, 
and  the  night  air  is  chill,  though  it  be  summer — and  fights 
and  wine,  I  say,  and  creature  comforts,  such  as  may  fit 
the  tender  and  the  delicate  of  women  ! " 

The  words  were  yet  upon  the  lips  of  Cromwell  when  a 
tall  female  figure,  marked  by  that  indescribable  yet  not  to 
be  mistaken  air  of  grace  which  is  seen  rarely  but  in  per 
sons  conscious  of  the  possession  of  high  station  and  pre 
eminent  endowments,  was  ushered  into  the  dim-lighted 
chamber.  The  coarse,  dark-colored  riding-cloak,  wrap 
ped  closely  round  her  form,  could  not  entirely  conceal  the 
elegant  proportions  which  it  was  evidently  intended  to 
disguise  ;  and  still  less  could  the  wide-leafed  hat  of  coun 
try  straw,  tied  closely  down  upon  the  cheeks  by  a  silk 
kerchief,  mask  the  aristocratic  mould  of  the  fair  features, 
or  hide  the  rich  luxuriance  of  the  light-brown  hair,  which 
hung,  uncurled  and  damp  with  the  night  dews,  far  down 
upon  her  shoulders. 

A  slight  bustle  occurred  while  the  general,  with  his  at 
tendant  officers,  tendered  her  in  dumb  show  the  courte 
sies  demanded  by  her  apparent  rank,  and  yet  more  by  her 
isolated  and  defenseless  situation ;  but,  with  an  air  of 
quiet  dignity,  she  waved  oif  their  civilities,  and  expressed, 
more  by  her  manner  than  her  words,  a  wish  to  be  left 
alone  with  the  far-dreaded  leader  of  the  Independents. 
Meanwhile  more  logs  had  been  heaped  on  the  hearth,  and 
now  threw  up  a  nickering  and  lively  glow,  which,  added 
to  the  lustre  of  some  three  or  four  fresh  lights,  diffused 
itself  into  the  farthest  angles  of  the  room.  The  serving- 
men  and  his  subordinates  withdrew,  Oliver  sternly  order- 


332  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ing  them  to  hold  themselves  aloof,  and  pray  to  be  deliv 
ered  from  the  sin  of  eavesdropping.  Then,  without  any 
affectation,  or  display  of  fear  or  of  embarrassment,  the 
lady  dropped  her  mantle,  and  stood  forth  revealed  in  all 
the  bright  and  beautiful  proportions  of  Sibyl  Arden.  Her 
face  was  pale  as  death,  yet  it  was  firm  and  perfectly  com 
posed;  there  was  no  nutter  of  her  pulse,  no  tremor  of  her 
frame,  no  doubt  or  hesitation  in  the  clear  cold  glance  of 
her  expressive  eye — all  was  calm,  self-confiding,  resolute, 
and  fearless. 

"  I  have  come  hither,"  she  said,  without  waiting  to  be 
first  addressed,  in  a  voice  slow  and  passionless,  yet  ex 
quisitely  musical,  "  I  have  come  hither,  General  Crom 
well,  in  a  fashion  men  will  deem  unmaidenly,  and  women 
bold  unto  effrontery.  I  have  come  hither  under  the  shade 
of  night,  alone,  save  with  the  company  of  menials,  unto 
the  foeman  of  my  family,  my  king,  my  country !  yet  dare 
not,  even  in  your  most  inward  soul,  to  deem  me  light  or 
frail.  I  have  come,  I  say,  hither,  casting  aside  all  preju 
dice,  all  fear,  and  all  reserve — defying  the  opinion  of  the 
world — incurring  the  contempt,  the  hatred,  and,  perhaps, 
the  curse  of  those  I  hold  most  dear.  Yet  have  I  come, 
upheld  by  mine  own  conscience,  and  firm  in  the  resolve 
to  hinder  a  foul  crime.  All  other  means  have  failed — 
tears,  arguments,  entreaties !  All — all !  I  say,  save  this. 
Get  you,  then,  instantly,"  she  went  on,  rising  as  she  spoke 
into  strong  energy,  "  to  horse !  To  horse !  to  horse  !  if 
you  would  save  your  friend,  your  fellow-soldier,  your  pre 
server — alas !  that  he  is  such — if  you  would  save  Edgar 
Arden  !  He  is  a  captive  to  the  cavaliers,  sentenced  to  die 
at  daybreak." 

"To  die !"  vehemently  interrupted  Cromwell — "to 
die !  they  dare  not — no,  for  their  souls  they  dare  not  I 
Did  they  but  harm  one  hair  of  him,  I  would  hang  fifty  of 
their  best  and  noblest  higher  than  ever  Haman  swung  in 
the  free  airs  of  heaven  1" 

"  Sentenced,"  she  continued,  quietly,  and  without  heed 
ing  the  interruption,  "  to  die  to-morrow !  Yet  he  may 
still  be  rescued  if  you  will  it  so.  Prisoner  to  a  small  body 
of  the  retreating  cavaliers,  he  will  be  shot  at  daybreak  if 
not  released  this  night ;  nor  can  he  be  released  save  by 


A  READY  HELP  IX  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  233 

your  strict  obedience  to  my  bidding !  Obey  me,  and  to 
night  you  rescue  him  who  would  have  died  to  save  you  ! 
Despise  my  warning,  and  to-morrow  you  may,  perchance — 
avenge  him." 

With  a  fixed,  scrutinizing  glance,  the  general  gazed 
upon  her  features  while  she  spoke,  as  though  he  would 
peruse  her  soul.  "  And  who,"  he  said,  at  length,  "  and 
who  are  you  that  speak  thus  resolutely,  act  thus  boldly, 
in  behalf  of  him  who  is  the  foeman  of  your  tribe — -even  the 
stout  and  valiant  Arden?" 

"  It  matters  not,"  she  answered,  steadily,  "  it  matters 
not  who  I  may  be,  or  what.  It  matters  only  that  you 
subscribe  to  my  conditions,  and  get  you  straight  to 
horse." 

"  Thus  far  it  matters  only,"  answered  Cromwell,  "  that, 
an'  I  know  you  not,  yea !  and,  moreover,  know  your  mo 
tives  likewise,  I  stir  not,  horse  nor  man  !  There  be  enow 
of  dames  and  damoiselles  among  you  who  would  deem 
falsehood  very  righteous  truth,  if  so  ye  might  entrap  one 
who — although  himself  he  saith  it — hath  been  and  will  be 
a  keen  instrument,  yea,  a  two-edged  sword,  to  work  de 
struction  on  the  sons  of  Belial ! " 

"  Not  so,  not  so  !  "  she  broke  upon  his  speech  with  strik 
ing  energy,  "  not  so,  by  all  my  hopes  of  Heaven !  Such 
may  be  thy  creed,  to  do  ill  that  good  may  come  of  it ; 
but  I — I  would  not  stoop  to  falsehood  were  it  to  buy  the 
lives  of  thousands  such  as  thou  art.  My  aim,  my  only 
aim,  is  to  preserve  the  young  from  a  most  cruel  and  heart 
rending  doom — to  save  the  aged  from  a  most  deadly 
crime.  I  am — know  it,  and  use  the  knowledge  as  you  list 
— I  am  the  niece  of  your  friend's  father." 

"  Ha !  Mistress  Sibyl  Arden — is  it  so  ?  "  muttered  the 
general,  musingly.  "  The  brother's  daughter  of  that  per 
verse  and  bloody-minded  old  malignant,  whose  right  hand 
is  crimson — crimson  with  the  persecution  of  the  saints ! 
Verily  this  is  a  sure  and  trusty  witness !  And  so  you 
would  preserve  the  youth — a  valiant  youth  he  is,  and  I  do 
say  it — stout  of  heart,  strong  of  hand,  tender  of  con 
science — yea,  a  burning  and  a  shining  light  to  men.  And 
so  thou  wouldst  preserve  him,  and  wouldst  wed  with  him 
— ha!  is  it  not  so  ? — and  win  him  to  the  faction  of  the  man 


234  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Charles  Stuart ! — preserve  his  life  so  to  destroy  his  soul !  Is 
it  not  so  ?  Ha !  have  I  read  your  heart  ?  " 

"  You  have  noty  she  answered,  with  calm  dignity,  "you 
have  not  read  it ;  nor  can  you  so  much  as  conjecture  or 
imagine  the  motives  or  the  thoughts  of  such  as  I,  more 
than  you  can  comprehend  the  sacred  truths  which  you 
misquote,  perverting  them  to  your  own  ruin.  Know, 
General  Cromwell,  that,  not  to  be  the  empress  of  the  uni 
verse — itf)t  to  restore  my  sovereign  to  his  lawful  throne — 
my  country  to  its  ancient  peace,  would  I  espouse  the  man 
who,  whether  from  misapprehended  duty  or  from  willful 
wrong,  can  band  himself  with  persons  like  to  thee — lend 
ing  himself  a  willing  tool  to  be  played  off  by  rebels  to 
their  monarch — traitors  to  their  country,  and — alas  !  that 
I  should  live  to  say  it — hypocrites  before  their  God !  It 
is  for  this — for  this  that  I  would  have  him  live,  that  he 
may  not  lack  season  for  repentance ;  and  that  his  misera 
ble  father  may  be  spared  the  sin  of  slaying  his  own 
son ! " 

"  His  father ! "  shouted  Cromwell,  excited  now  beyond 
all  self-restraint,  "  his  father !  In  God's  name,  speak  out, 
maiden!  His  father!  Merciful  Lord!  what  meanest 
thou  ?  " 

"  He  is  a  captive  to  Sir  Henry  Arden,"  she  replied ; 
"  made  captive  in  the  very  action  of  defending  him,  and 
doomed  by  him  to  perish,  as  a  rebel  and  a  traitor,  with 
the  first  break  of  dawn !  " 

"  Where  lie  these  cavaliers  ?  What  be  their  numbers  ? 
Speak ! " 

"  Promise  me,  then,"  she  said,  with  infinite  composure, 
"promise  me,  as  you  are  a  gentleman,  a  soldier,  and  a 
Christian,  that,  save  to  rescue  Edgar  Arden,  you  will  not 
turn  the  tidings  I  shall  give  you  to  your  own  gain  or  to 
King  Charles'  detriment.  Promise  before  the  Lord,  and 
by  your  hopes  of  an  hereafter,  that  you  will  shed  no  drop 
of  blood  which  is  not  absolutely  needful  to  his  safety ; 
and  more,  that,  he  once  safe,  you  will  strike  no  blow 
farther,  but  return  straightway  to  this  spot,  molesting  no 
man,  nor  taking  any  note  of  their  position  or  proceed 
ings  against  whom  I  shall  lead  you,  for  twelve  hours' 
space." 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  235 

"  Tush — tush  !  it  may  not  be.  Say  quickly  where  they 
lie,  and  what  their  numbers,  so  shall  we  save  your  lover ; 
but  dally  not,  I  pray  you,  lest  we  may  be  too  late  to 
rescue." 

"  Promise !  "  she  answered,  steadily. 

"  Dally  not,  maiden — I  say  dally  not,"  Cromwell  re 
peated,  very  sternly,  "  else  shall  the  blood  of  him  thou 
lovest,  and  not  this  only,  but  the  guilt  of  that  insane  old 
homicide  rest  on  your  head,  who  mightst  have  saved  them, 
but  wouldst  not." 

"  Promise,  or  not  a  word  from  me.  Promise,  or  I  go 
hence,  and  Heaven  befriend  whom  thou  desertest  to  de 
struction." 

"  It  may  not  be,  I  say — it  may  not  be  ! "  he  cried, 
gnashing  his  teeth,  and  stamping  violently  on  the  floor, 
in  a  fierce  paroxysm  of  unbridled  rage.  "  Speak  quickly, 
girl,  and  truly,  or  instantly  I  cast  thee  into  bonds.  With 
out  there,  ho !  a  guard  and  fetters !  " 

"  Promise,  or  you  may  tear  me  limb  from  limb — ay, 
draw  me  with  wild  horses,  yet  shalt  thou  nothing  learn. 
Promise,  and  I  tell  all." 

The  guard  rushed  in — grim,  gloomy-looking  fanatics, 
to  whom  their  leader's  merest  nod  was  law — yet  she  was 
silent  as  the  grave ;  and  the  dark  zealot  paused  in  deep 
perplexity.  His  brow  was  stormy  as  a  winter's  midnight ; 
his  eye  cold,  hard,  and  pitiless ;  his  teeth  compressed  so 
firmly  that  his  very  lips  were  white  as  ashes ;  and  his 
hands  clinched,  yet  quivering  with  emotion.  While  he 
yet  doubted,  a  slow  solemn  sound  came  floating  down  the 
night  wind  to  his  excited  ears  ;  it  was  the  village  clock 
striking  the  second  hour  past  midnight. 

"  Three  hours  more,"  she  said,  in  a  low,  mournful 
voice,  "three  hours  more,  and  nothing  will  remain  of 
him  you  call  your  friend,  except  a  little  blood-stained 
clay,  which  you  may — or  may  not — avenge !  " 

The  muscles  of  the  general's  mouth  worked  violently, 
his  clinched  hand  gradually  opened,  the  expression  of  his 
eye  grew  softer. 

"Noble  heart  —  noble  heart!"  he  muttered;  "well 
hath  the  prophet  spoken,  'a  virtuous  woman  is  beyond 
the  price  of  rubies.'"  Then,  raising  his  voice,  he  said, 


236  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

distinctly  and  aloud,  "  Before  the  Lord,  my  Judge,  and 
my  Redeemer,  and  by  my  hopes  of  grace,  I  promise  thee. 
It  shall  be  done  as  thou  wouldst  have  it.  How  many,  and 
where  lie  they  ?  " 

"  Three  hundred  horse — in  the  small  town  of  Wetherby 
on  Wharfe." 

"  Sound  trumpets — boot  and  saddle !  Mine  own  first 
ironsides  to  horse ;  let  them  all  carry  petronels.  Des 
patch  !  despatch !  Saddle  me  Thunder  for  the  field ;  I 
will  myself  to  horse !  Find  me  three  trusty  guides,  that 
know  each  yard  of  country  for  ten  miles  around !  For 
life  !  for  life !  no  tarrying ! " 

Forth  rushed  the  subalterns  ;  the  trumpets  flourished, 
piercingly  shrill  and  stirring;  then  came  the  clash  of 
arms,  the  trampling  of  quick  feet,  the  glare  of  torches, 
the  din  of  confused  voices,  the  pawing  and  the  snort  of 
chargers,  and  all  the  thrilling  sounds  and  sights  of  an 
alarum  at  the  dead  of  night. 

"  One  more  word,  maiden,"  he  exclaimed,  while  fasten 
ing  the  rivets  of  his  corslet  with  an  impatient  hand; 
"  where  hold  they  him  in  ward  ?  " 

"  In  the  courthouse,"  she  answered,  "  hard  by  the  mar 
ket-place,  and  nigh  the  river  bank.  And  now  forget  you 
have  beheld  me — forget  it,  and  farewell !  " 

"  Nay  —  nay,"  he  said,  "  not  so.  You  go  not  hence 
save  with  our  escort.  Too  much  risk  have  you  run  to 
night  already." 

"  No,"  she  replied,  "  I  must  be  home  before  you.  I 
lodge  not  in  the  town,  and  I  may  well  be  missed.  I  must 
be  home  before  you,  else  will  all  fail." 

"  Nay,  thou  art  right  in  all  things,"  Cromwell  an 
swered,  "and  as  thou  wiliest  it  shall  be.  Kingsland, 
conduct  the  maiden  in  all  honor  to  her  own  attendants. 
Lady,"  he  added,  taking  her  by  the  hand,  with  a  benevo 
lent  expression  lighting  his  gloomy  features,  "  lady,  thou 
art  a  goodly  and  a  glorious  creature,  and  this  night  hast 
thou  done  a  deed  worthy  the  noblest  of  earth's  daughters. 
A  soldier's  blessing,  although  he  be  not  of  thy  faith  nor 
of  thy  fiction,  cannot  disgrace  or  harm  thee.  The  God 
of  Israel  bless  thee,  then,  and  guide  thy  feet  aright,  and 
give  thee  peace,  and  happiness,  and  understanding.  Fare- 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  237 

well,  and  doubt  not  that  I  will  deal  with  thee  righteously ; 
for  if  I  fail  thee  to  transgress  my  promise,  may  He  whom 
I  profess  to  serve  —  with  frailty,  it  is  true,  and  fainting, 
yet  with  sincere  heart-zeal  —  do  unto  me  so  likewise  at 
mine  utmost  need,  and  much  more  also  !  " 

He  let  fall  her  hand  as  suddenly  as  he  had  taken  it,  and, 
as  if  half  ashamed  of  the  emotion  he  had  shown,  abruptly 
turned  away  and  scanned  the  map  which  lay  upon  the  ta 
ble  with  intense  scrutiny ;  while  Sibyl,  wondering  at  the 
singular  emotion  and  unexpected  conduct  of  the  hated 
Independent,  silently  left  the  house,  to  hurry  homeward 
with  an  easier  heart  than  she  had  carried  to  the  quarters 
of  the  Puritans. 

Before  half  an  hour  had  elapsed,  five  hundred  chosen 
horsemen  were  under  arms  and  in  the  saddle,  the  very 
flower  of  Cromwell's  finest  cavalry,  and  he  himself,  des 
pite  his  wounds,  his  arm  yet  hanging  in  a  sling,  mounted 
and  at  their  head.  After  a  short  and  hurried  conversa 
tion  with  the  guides,  he  gave  the  word  to  march,  and  led 
them  at  a  rapid  trot  along  the  moonlight  roads,  none 
knowing,  save  himself,  the  object  or  direction  of  their 
route.  When  they  had  ridden  some  six  miles  upon  their 
way,  he  halted  suddenly ;  "  Is  there  not  hereabout,"  he 
said,  looking  toward  the  guide,  who  rode  beside  his  rein, 
"  a  path  whereby  to  reach  the  Wharfe,  and  ford  it  here, 
some  mile  or  so  below  the  town  ?  " 

"  A  half  mile  farther,"  answered  the  countryman,  "  a 
lane  turns  off  to  the  left  down  to  the  Flint-mill  ford,  two 
miles  below  the  bridge." 

"  Ho !  Captain  Goodenough,"  cried  Oliver,  "  take  thou 
this  fellow  to  the  rear,  and,  as  we  pass  the  lane,  turn 
down  it  with  the  last  troop ;  tarry  not  on  thy  way,  but 
cross  the  river,  and  keep  the  right  bank  up  until  thou  be 
within  two  gunshots  of  the  bridge ;  there  halt  till  that 
thou  hear  my  trumpets,  and  then  charge !  over  the 
bridge — into  the  town  —  and  strike  straight  for  the  mar 
ket-place  !  If  that  ye  be  discovered  ere  ye  hear  me,  de 
lay  not,  but  dash  straightway  in.  If  that  your  guide  de 
ceive  you,  shoot  him  upon  the  instant.  Be  cautious  and 
be  quick — away !  " 

On  they  went,  quickening  still  their  pace,  and,  as  they 


238  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

passed  the  lane,  the  troop  appointed  to  the  duty  wheeled 
off,  steadily,  but  without  slackening  its  pace,  and  hurried 
on  its  route. 

Another  mile  was  passed,  and  once  again  the  general 
halted ;  "  Kingsland  and  Pearson,"  he  cried,  "  move  to 
the  front ;  I  would  hold  counsel  with  ye ;  and  bring  the 
other  guides ; "  then,  as  his  officers  arrived,  "  there  be," 
he  said,  "  two  other  roads,  besides  this  which  we  follow, 
that  enter  Wetherby  this  side  the  river — the  great  north 
road  from  Boroughbridge,  and  one  from  Knaresborough 
yet  farther  to  the  west.  Gooderiough  holds  the  bridge, 
and  I  will  keep  this  route.  You  two  must  ride  across 
the  country  till  that  ye  reach  these  roads.  Feel  your 
way  down  them,  each  one  as  nearly  as  he  may  unto  their 
outposts  ;  and,  when  ye  hear  my  trumpets,  charge,  as  I 
said  before,  and  cut  your  way  straight  for  the  market 
place.  Kill  no  more  than  ye  must,  and  make  no  prison 
ers.  Keep  your  men  well  together,  and  be  steady.  Send 
back  your  guides  to  me,  each  with  an  orderly,  when  ye 
have  reached  the  roads.  Ye  have  but  a  scant  hour  to  do 
it,  but  that  is  time  enow  an'  ye  employ  it  diligently.  By 
then  the  moon  will  set,  and"  we  shall  have  it  dark  and 
misty.  Be  wary,  and  success  is  certain.  God  speed  ye, 
gentlemen.  Away ! " 

And  off  they  rode  across  the  open  fields,  which 
stretched,  at  that  time,  without  fences  or  enclosures,  ex 
cept  a  few  small  drains,  for  many  miles  over  that  fertile 
district.  An  hour  passed  slowly  over,  and  the  moon 
sank,  as  Cromwell  had  predicted,  into  a  heavy  bed  of 
clouds,  yet  he  moved  not.  His  men  were  drawn  up,  all 
dismounted,  but  each  trooper  by  his  horse,  in  a  small 
piece  of  marshy  woodland,  open  to  the  road,  where  they 
could  not  have  been  discovered  by  a  chance  passenger. 
The  morning  grew  not  lighter  yet,  for  a  small  drizzling 
rain  began  to  fall,  with  a  dense  fog,  rendering  objects 
scarcely  visible  at  ten  feet  distance.  Another  half  hour 
passed,  and  yet  no  tidings. 

"  Mount,  *ho  !  and  blow  your  matches,"  exclaimed 
Cromwell,  breaking  the  silence,  which  had  so  long  re 
mained  uninterrupted  by  any  human  sound  or  whisper. 
"  We  must  fall  on,  else  shall  we  be  too  late,  trusting  to 


A  READY  HELP  IN  TIME  OF  TROUBLE.  239 

fortune  and  the  favor  of  the  Lord  that  our  friends  be  at 
their  posts.  Wheel  to  the  left,  ho  !  Forward  —  trot !  " 
and  he  put  his  horse  at  once  into  his  swiftest  pace.  Just 
as  he  moved  his  men  the  clang  of  hoofs  came  rattling  up 
the  stony  road ;  it  was  the  guide  from  Pearson,  with  an 
orderly.  "All's  well,"  he  cried;  "stout  Captain  Pearson 
hath  gained  the  farther  road ;  Kingsland  must  needs  be 
at  his  post ;  and  lo  !  here  comes  his  messenger." 

"  Forward,  then  !  forward !  "  shouted  Cromwell,  "  for 
lo !  there  breaks  the  morning.  Forward,  and  when  the 
outposts  challenge  us,  sound  trumpets  and  shout  cheer 
ily  !  "  And  on  they  went,  clattering  at  a  furious  pace 
along  the  broken  roads ;  and  now  they  almost  reached 
the  town,  the  lights  of  which  they  might  see  feebly 
twinkling  through  the  mist-wreaths.  An  awful  sound 
broke  on  their  ears,  heard  fearfully  distinct  above  the  din 
of  hoofs  and  clash  of  spur  and  scabbard  —  it  was  the  first 
note  of  the  death-bell ! 

"Gallop!  ho!  gallop!"  Cromwell  shouted  out,  in 
piercing  tones,  that  thrilled  to  every  heart,  plunging  his 
spurs  up  to  the  rowel-heads  into  his  charger's  side  ; 
but  his  command  reached  other  ears  than  those  of  his 
stout  followers. 

"  Stand,  ho ! "  challenged  a  drowsy  sentinel,  whom 
they  had  well-nigh  passed  unnoticed,  despite  the  clatter 
of  their  march ;  "  stand,  or  I  shoot ! "  and,  at  the  self 
same  point  of  time,  his  musket  was  discharged ;  but  its 
report  was  drowned  by  the  heart-thrilling  flourish  of  the 
trumpets  and  the  repeated  war  cry  of  the  charging  zeal 
ots.  On  every  side  the  trumpets  of  the  general  were  an 
swered  by  the  simultaneous  shouts  of  the  three  bands  he 
had  detached,  by  the  quick  clatter  of  their  horses'  hoofs, 
and  the  sharp  ringing  volleys  of  their  carbines.  On  every 
side  the  outposts  were  cut  down,  and  the  town  entered 
sword  in  hand.  The  death-bell  ceased  to  toll — the  ring 
ers  had  deserted  it  in  terror.  The  bugles  pealed,  arid  the 
drums  beat  to  arms,  but  it  was  all  too  late.  The  few 
who  were  on  foot  were  instantly  cut  down ;  others  came 
rushing  from  their  quarters  half  attired,  with  lighted 
torches  and  unbelted  brands,  only  to  gaze  in  mute  and 
unresisting  terror  on  the  complete  success  of  the  assail- 


240  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ants  —  only  to  see  four  gallant  troops  of  horse,  wheeling 
from  opposite  directions  and  in  resistless  numbers  into 
the  market-place  !  —  to  hear  the  clang  of  ax  and  hammer 
upon  the  prison-gates,  mixed  with  the  deafening  huzzas 
of  the  triumphant  Puritans !  —  to  mark,  by  the  red  glare 
of  many  a  flambeau  suddenly  kindled  by  the  troop 
ers,  their  captive  borne  in  triumph  from  the  cell  —  which 
he  had  never  dreamed  of  quitting  but  for  the  place  of  ex 
ecution  —  mounted  upon  a  ready  charger,  and  girt  round 
by  a  ring  of  swords  that  set  the  very  hope  of  rescue  at 
defiance. 

One  short  note  of  the  bugle,  and  every  torch  expired 
as  suddenly  as  it  had  been  illumed.  Another,  and  the 
strangers  fell  into  column  with  the  speed  of  thought,  and, 
filing  off  at  a  hard  trot,  were  out  of  sight  so  rapidly,  that, 
but  for  the  dismantled  gates,  the  empty  dungeon,  the  de 
caying  brands  that  smouldered  on  the  ground,  and  the 
few  scattered  bodies  outstretched  upon  the  miry  pave 
ment  never  to  rise  again,  all  that  had  passed  might  have 
been  almost  deemed  a  wild  and  baseless  dream. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TEMPTED,      BUT     TRUE. 

Yet  not  for  power — power  of  herself 
Would  come  uncalled  for — but  to  live  by  law, 
Acting  the  law  we  live  by  without  fear ; 
And  because  right  is  right,  to  follow  right 
Were  wisdom  in  the  scoru  of  consequence. 

TENNYSON. — 

THE  terrible  campaign  of  1644  had  ended;  not,  indeed, 
with  that  total  overthrow  of  Charles  and  absolute  disper 
sion  of  his  party  which  might  well  have  been  looked  for 
after  the  complete  rout  of  the  finest  army  he  had  ever 
been  enabled  to  collect,  upon  Long  Marston  Moor,  and 
which  would  probably  have  followed  had  all  the  generals 
of  the  commonwealth  been  equals — in  spirit,  energy,  and 


TEMPTED,  BUT  TRUE.  241 

firm  devotion  to  their  cause  —  to  the  true  victors  of  that 
bloody  day,  Fairfax  and  Cromwell. 

But,  in  truth,  during  the  years  which  had  elapsed  since 
the  uplifting  of  the  royal  standard,  the  aspect  of  affairs  in 
England  had  been  changed  greatly  for  the  worse,  and 
men's  opinions  had  undergone,  if  possible,  a  greater  al 
teration.  Each  party,  as  is  the  natural  consequence  of 
opposition,  whether  in  argument  or  armed  strife,  had  but 
become  more  desperately  wedded  to  its  own  principles 
or  prejudices.  The  king,  though  he  had  gained  no  sin 
gle  step  toward  a  general  result  of  conquest  or  pacifica 
tion,  was  more  resolved  than  ever  to  come  to  no  terms, 
save  such  as  he  could  never  reasonably  even  hope  to  gain, 
with  his  rebellious  subjects.  The  people,  meanwhile, 
were  becoming  weary  of  the  war,  and  all  the  miseries 
that  follow  in  its  train ;  and  seeing  that  there  was  no 
hope  that  Charles  would  ever  listen  either  to  prudence  or 
to  reason  until  reduced  to  infinite  extremities,  were  daily, 
hourly  increasing  in  their  animosity  to  him,  and  in  their 
readiness  to  urge  on  and  promote,  by  every  method  in 
their  power,  the  interest  of  his  enemies.  The  nobles,  on 
the  other  hand,  those  even  who  had  been  the  first  and 
the  most  zealous  to  proclaim  themselves  adherents  to  the 
parliament  and  constitution,  the  first  to  buckle  on  the 
arms  of  legalized  and  just  rebellion,  perceived  at  length 
that,  through  the  self-destructive  obstinacy  of  the  king, 
the  civil  strife  could  have  no  end  save  in  the  downfall  of 
the  monarchy,  and  consequent  suppression  of  all  aristo 
cratic  privilege.  They  relaxed  then  their  efforts ;  fought, 
if  they  fought  at  all,  with  feeble  and  uncertain  spirit,  as 
doubtful  whether  conquest  or  defeat  would  prove  to 
them  the  greater  evil ;  and  would,  had  they  possessed 
the  absolute  control,  have  suffered  the  war  to  go  out,  as 
it  were,  for  very  lack  of  aliment. 

Among  the  royalists,  immediately  upon  the  issue  of 
that  bloody  field,  the  gallant  Newcastle,  justly  incensed 
at  Rupert's  furious  and  unmannered  rashness,  by  which, 
indeed  the  whole  north  had  been  set  at  stake  and  lost  in 
one  pitched  battle,  had  thrown  aside  his  arms,  and 
crossed  the  seas  to  gratify,  if  it  might  be,  in  happier 
realms,  his  taste  for  those  accomplishments  and  arts  of 
K  X6 


242  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

peace  which  were  far  more  congenial  to  his  improved  and 
courtly  intellect  than  the  rude  din  of  camps  and  foughten 
fields.  The  prince,  without  so  much  as  an  attempt  to 
rally  his  dispersed  and  shattered  forces,  fled  with  all  speed 
toward  Chester,  while  York,  relieved  in  vain,  surren 
dered  in  a  few  days  to  the  conquerors  of  Marston. 

Better  success,  however,  than  could  have  been  ex 
pected,  fell  to  the  cavaliers  in  other  portions  of  the  realm. 
Charles,  who,  a  few  days  previous  to  the  defeat  of  his 
rash  nephew,  had  worsted  Waller  at  Cropredy  bridge, 
now  following  up  his  slight  advantage  by  a  vigorous  and 
able  movement  into  Cornwall,  pressed  upon  Essex  with 
such  skill  and  perseverance,  that  the  general  of  the  par 
liament  was  forced  to  make  a  most  precipitate  escape  by 
sea.  Hopeless  of  bringing  off  his  army,  he  went  on  board 
with  a  few  officers,  having  first  sent  away  his  horse,  un 
der  command  of  Balfour,  to  cut  their  way  as  best  they 
might  to  London  —  an  end  which,  owing  to  the  shameful 
revelry  of  Goring,  who  suffered  them,  although  fore 
warned  even  of  the  hour  when  the  sortie  would  be  made, 
to  pass  his  lines  unchallenged,  he  most  successfully  ac 
complished  —  and  leaving  all  his  infantry,  artillery,  and 
baggage,  under  Skippon,  to  take  the  best  terms  of 
surrender  they  might  gain  from  the  king's  policy  or 
mercy. 

A  second  desperate  drawn  battle  followed  before  New- 
bury,  wherein,  as  they  had  done  in  every  action,  Crom 
well's  undaunted  squadrons  carried  all  before  them  in 
that  part  of  the  field  where  they  engaged ;  although  at 
other  points  the  headlong  valor  of  the  cavaliers  retrieved 
the  day,  and  gained  the  doubtful  credit  of  a  balanced 
fight,  owing,  as  it  was  said,  to  Manchester's  uncertain  it 
not  dishonest  policy  in  absolutely  prohibiting  the  leader  of 
the  ironsides  from  making  one  more  charge  on  the  retiring 
royalists,  when,  as  that  officer  asserted,  a  complete  victory 
must  have  undoubtedly  been  won  by  such  a  movemert. 
After  this  fruitless  struggle,  relieving  the  beleaguered 
posts  of  Donnington  and  Basing  House,  the  king  once  more 
took  up  his  quarters  for  the  winter  in  the  loyal  town  of 
Oxford,  with  better  hopes  than  he  had  entertained  since 
the  complete  subversion  of  his  party  in  the  north ;  on 


TEMPTED,  BUT  TRUE.  243 

news  of  which  his  queen  had  instantly  escaped  to  France, 
and  he  himself  had  deemed  it  wise  to  send  the  Prince  of 
Wales  to  Bristol  with  a  separate  council  and  an  inde 
pendent  army,  judging  it  hazardous  to  hold  so  great  a 
stake  as  their  united  safety  embarked  upon  a  single 
venture. 

Toward  the  dead  of  winter,  the  armies  being  both  laid 
up,  the  Puritan  leaders  returned  to  Westminster,  to  take 
once  more  their  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  houses, 
since  they  had  no  more  opportunity  of  active  service  in 
the  field.  Matters  in  parliament  looked  wildly ;  parties 
ran  higher  now  than  they  had  done  at  any  time,  even  be 
fore  the  royalists  seceded  from  the  councils  of  the  nation  ; 
the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents  striving  with 
rancorous  and  bitter  energy  to  gain  the  upper  hand  each 
of  the  other.  Commissioners  were  indeed  sent  from  both 
sides  to  treat  for  peace,  as  during  the  preceding  winter, 
at  Uxbridge,  but  rather  to  preserve  appearances  than 
from  the  least  belief  on  either  hand  that  they  could  prove 
successful  in  their  mission. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when,  on  a  keen  Decem 
ber's  afternoon,  Arden  strolled  forth  from  his  lodging 
under  the  pressure  of  uneasy  thoughts,  to  try  if  exercise 
and  change  of  scene  might  banish  the  dull  sense  of  rooted 
sorrow,  almost  amounting  to  despair,  which  had  pos 
sessed  his  bosom.  At  first  he  wandered  aimlessly  about 
the  streets,  until  at  length  he  found  himself  in  the  long 
alleys  of  St.  James's  Mall,  the  stage  in  former  days  of  so 
much  gayety  and  pomp,  but  now  all  gloomy  and  de 
serted  by  every  living  thing  except  a  few  disconsolate 
and  dingy  sparrows,  huddled  together  on  the  leafless 
branches  of  the  elms,  or  twittering  feebly  in  the  wintry 
sunshine. 

The  dull  and  lonely  scenery,  the  grassplots  mantled 
partially  with  crisp  hoarfrost,  the  wide  canals  sheeted 
with  rotten  and  half-melted  ice,  the  rustic  benches  white 
with  the  slippery  rime,  the  big  drops  splashing  down 
from  off  the  southern  branches  of  the  giant  trees,  and, 
above  all,  the  utter  solitude,  the  absence  of  any  human 
being,  harmonized  so  well  with  the  dark  and  almost  mis 
anthropic  mood  which  had  crept  on  the  young  soldier, 


244  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

that  he  continued  for  above  an  hour  to  stroll  to  and  fro, 
almost  unconscious  of  the  flight  of  time.  He  was  at 
length,  however,  awakened  from  his  revery  by  the  ap 
proach  of  three  men  walking  at  a  rapid  pace  toward  him, 
apparently  engaged  in  conversation  of  the  strongest  in 
terest  A  singli  glance  sufficed  to  let  him  recognize  the 
persons  of  Ireton,  Vane,  and  Cromwell.  So  deeply  were 
these  gentlemen  engrossed  in  their  discourse,  that  it  was 
not  till  they  were  on  the  very  point  of  meeting  that 
Cromwell  knew  his  favorite  officer.  They  did  not  even 
then,  however,  pause ;  but,  with  a  courteous  salutation, 
passed  him,  still  speaking  rapidly  in  a  low  tone  After  a 
few  steps  Oliver  quitted  his  companions,  and,  turning 
short  around,  followed  Edgar  at  so  swift  a  pace  that  he 
overtook  him  almost  instantly. 

"  You   are  well  met,"  he  said,  entering  without  pream 
ble   on  his  subject;  "had  I  not  thus,  by  special  favor,  it 
should   seem,  of  Providence,  encountered   you,  I  should 
have  sought  you  in  your  lodging  ere  to-morrow  morning. 
There  is  a  great  change  working ;  yea !  a  great  change  in 
Israel!     And  truly  it  is  needed;  for,  verily,  the  tares 
have  multiplied  among  the  harvest  of  the  Lord ;  they  have 
increased   fourfold  ;  they  have   grown  up  all  green,    and 
rank,  and  flourishing,  that  they  shall  overtop  the  goodly 
wheat   and  choke  it  down,  and  triumph  over  it.     But  lo  ! 
the  time  is  now  at  hand.     The  Lord  hath  borne  it  in  upon 
our  hearts,  that  we  shall  purge  the  field ;  that  we  shall 
purify  the  threshing-floor,  setting  apart  the  good  gram 
from  the  sinful  weeds,  that  so  we  may  not  die,  but  live  I " 
"  Of  what  change  speak  you  general  ?  "   returned  Ar- 
den,  somewhat  coldly ;  "  for,  to  say  truth,  I  may  not  com 
prehend  you  while  you  speak  thus  in  parables." 

"  May  not  or  will  not— whether  ?  "  Oliver  inquired, 
with  a  solemn  sneer  curling  his  lip  ;  and  he  fixed  his  pierc- 
ino-  eye  upon  the  face  of  Arden  so  sternly  and  so  search- 
iugly  withal,  that  few  men  could  have  brooked  his  gaze 
without  confusion ;  then,  seeing  that  the  countenance  oi 
Edgar,  though  firm  and  fixed,  was  frank  and  open  as  the 
dav  he  deigned  to  speak  directly  to  the  point.  "Why, 
see  you  not,"  he  said,  "  that  an'  these  generals,  these  lords 
continue— self-seekers  as  they  be,  not  holding  their  eyes 


TEMPTED,  BUT  TRUE.  245 

steady  and  their  hearts  aright  toward  the  public  weal,  but 
turning  to  the  right  hand  and  the  left,  struggling  ever  for 
their  own  advancement,  backsliding,  wavering,  and  faint 
ing  at  the  push  of  need — see  you  not  that  this  war  shall 
vex  the  realm  long  years,  and  that  the  man  Charles  Stuart 
must  in  the  end  prevail  ?  For,  lo  you !  even  now  these 
covenanting,  crafty  Scots,  whom  may  the  Lord  confound, 
are  hankering,  as  the  Israelites  of  old,  after  the  fleshpots 
of  the  heathen.  I  tell  you,  of  a  verity,  if  they  might  cast 
the  net  of  their  deceptions  over  this  groaning  land — even 
the  foul  abomination  of  an  established  Presbyterian  church, 
sterner  than  prelacy,  yea,  more  intolerant  than  papistry 
itself — they  would  desert  us  straightway,  and  unsheath 
the  sword,  edgeless  although  it  be,  and  wielded  by  most 
weak  and  coward  hands,  to  raise  the  king  unto  his  former 
place,  and  stablish  him  in  all  the  might,  as  he  is  steady  in 
the  will,  to  work  upon  our  heads  his  ancient  tyranny." 

"  Something  of  this  I  have  perceived,"  Arden  replied, 
"  and  loath  am  I  to  own  it  even  to  mine  inmost  thoughts. 
But,  on  my  conscience,  I  believe  that  Manchester  and 
Essex  wish  not  to  see  the  parliament  prevail  too  fully. 
Nay,  more,  I  grievously  suspect  the  Scottish  leaders,  and 
have  done  so  from  the  beginning.  It  may  be  that  I  wrong 
them,  but  I  do  hold  that  their  only  object  from  the  first 
hath  been  to  force  the  bigotted  and  iron  discipline  of  their 
presbytery  upon  this  kingdom,  intolerant,  inquisitorial, 
meddling,  vexatious,  and  fanatical.  Nor  do  I  think  that 
they  would  strike  one  blow  for  liberty,  save  in  this  rooted 
hope." 

You  do  not,  Edgar  Arden,  you  do  not  wrong  them," 
exclaimed  Cromwell,  joyously.  "I  do  rejoice  that  you 
have  read  them  rightly.  And  would  not  you  do  some 
thing,  something  to  free  our  necks  from  this  most  bitter 
yoke  of  spiritual  bondage,  to  cast  this  burden  from  our 
consciences — would  you  not  venture  somewhat  ?  " 

"  Much,  much !  "  cried  Arden  ;  "  I  would  both  do  and 
venture  deeply,  if  I  could  see  the  method  and  the  time." 

"  Yerily,  I  will  show  thee  both,"  answered  the  other ; 
*'  to-morrow  do  we  hold  a  solemn  fast  and  a  soul-searching 
self-inquiry  to  the  Lord  in  all  our  congregations,  and  all 
our  preachers  shall  exhort  us — truly  the  Lord  hath  put 


246  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

one  leaven  and  the  same  into  the  hearts  of  all,  and  with  it 
shall  we  all  be  leavened — showing  us  how  unjust  and 
scandalous  a  thing  it  is  that  we,  the  members  of  the  houses, 
should  engross  all  offices,  both  of  the  army  and  the  state ; 
giving  a  cause  to  backbiters  and  to  malignants  that  they 
should  scoff  and  cry,  '  Ha — ha !  lovers  of  gain  rather  than 
lovers  of  the  Lord !  self-seekers,  striving  for  the  soft  and 
elevated  places !  belly-gods  hungering  and  thirsting  for 
the  fat  things  and  the  sweet  things  of  the  land  ! ' 

"  Then  shall  we  move  before  the  commons,  Sir  Harry 
Vane  and  I,  a  self-denying  ordinance,  whereby  no  mem 
ber  shall  hold,  any  more,  any  commission  in  the  armies  of 
the  land.  So  shall  these  stiff-necked  nobles  be  forced  to 
yield  the  sway  they  have  so  misemployed,  and  Fairfax, 
honest  and  trusty  Fairfax,  shall  take  the  place  of  doubting 
Essex." 

For  a  moment  Arden  pondered  deeply,  and  it  was  now 
his  turn  to  strive  to  read  the  countenance  of  his  compan 
ion,  but  all  was  dark,  mysterious,  and  inscrutable.  "Your 
scheme,"  he  said  at  length,  "  your  scheme  is  naught,  for 
by  this  ordinance  you  must  yourself  resign  your  trun 
cheon  ;  and,  I  care  not  although  I  say  it,  I  hold  you  the 
main  pillar  of  our  armies  in  the  field.  Your  scheme  is 
therefore  naught ;  nor  could  it  pass  the  lords." 

"  The  lords !  "  said  Oliver,  with  a  grim  sneer  ;  "  trouble 
not  yourself  for  the  lords !  Truly  the  time  hath  come 
when  they  must  do  even  as  the  commons  bid  them.  And 
for  the  rest,  surely  there  is  a  way — " 

"  An  honest  way  ?  "  asked  Edgar,  sharply,  "  for,  to  say 
truth,  General  Cromwell,  I  like  not  these  by-paths  of 
counsel ;  still  less  like  I  this  calling  upon  holy  names,  this 
feigning  inspiration  and  forging  miracles,  this  quoting  and 
interpreting  the  word  of  God  to  justify  things  politic  and 
worldly." 

"  Go  to !  go  to  ! "  cried  Oliver,  but  with  a  dark  and 
subtle  smile ;  "  thou  talkest  as  a  babe — yea,  as  a  very 
suckling,  that  knoweth  not  the  hearts  of  men.  Know  this ; 
all  things  are  honest  that  are  wrought  for  honest  ends. 
Moreover,  many  pious  souls  there  be ;  yea,  conscientious, 
tender,  and  God-fearing  souls,  that  will  not  lend  them 
selves  to  any  work,  how  honest  in  itself  soever,  without 


TEMPTED,  BUT  TRUE.  247 

they  seek  the  Lord  and  learn  his  pleasure.  I  say  there  is 
a  way,  ay,  and  a  righteous  way,  whereby  we  may  retain 
our  leading  of  the  new-modelled  host,  and  marshal  it  to 
glory." 

"  How  so  ?  I  see  it  not,"  said  Edgar,  wholly  uncon 
vinced  by  Cromwell's  specious  sophistry.  "  It  must  be 
most  gross  practice." 

"  Surely,  we  may  resign  our  sittings  in  the  house,"  an 
swered  Oliver,  very  slowly,  watching  the  effect  of  every 
word  upon  the  face  of  Arden,  "  if  it  be  better  for  the 
people  of  the  Lord,  that  we  continue  with  the  army." 

"  And  wherefore  not  they  also  ?  " 

"  Wherefore  not — "  interrupted  Cromwell  —  "  where 
fore,  but  because  they,  being  peers  of  England,  their 
seats  hereditary,  their  privileges  indefeasible — " 

"  Well,  sir,"  Edgar  broke  in  upon  him  before  his  speech 
was  half  concluded,  "  I  see  your  plan,  and  I  believe  that 
you  mean  honestly ;  nevertheless,  I  like  it  not,  and  I  will 
none  of  it.  I  love  not  devious  counsels." 

"  And  will  you  then  fall  off  ?  "  inquired  the  other,  evi 
dently  much  annoyed ;  "  will  you,  that  have  performed 
such  mighty  deeds  for  the  good  cause,  fighting  the  faith 
ful  fight  for  Israel,  will  you  fall  off  to  those  whom  you 
know  to  be  wavering  and  fickle,  if  that  they  be  not  abso 
lutely  traitorous  and  false  ?  " 

"  I  will  do  nothing,  Master  Cromwell,  on  that  you  may 
rely,  I  will  do  nothing,"  Edgar  replied,  in  quiet  but  stern 
tones,  "  that  both  my  head  and  heart  approve  not.  I  may 
not  in  my  conscience  vote  for  this  your  measure ;  for  though 
I  quarrel  not  with  the  effects,  but  deem  them  the  most  de 
sirable,  I  do  abhor  the  means.  I  may  not  vote  against 
you,  for  I  yet  more  dislike  the  course  of  your  opponents. 
Neutral  I  will  not  be ;  therefore  to-morrow  I  resign  my 
seat.  There  be  not  any  measures  in  debate  in  which  I 
now  care  to  mingle.  In  matters  of  religion,  my  voice  is 
still  for  universal  liberty ;  all  systems  of  exclusion,  whether 
they  be  Presbyterian  or  Papistical,  I  hold  alike  despotic, 
bigotted,  and  Jesuitical,  and  I  will  vote  for  none  of  them. 
I  will  devote  my  parts  where  most  they  may  avail — to  the 
ordering  of  my  soldiery." 

"Be  it  so,"  answered  Cromwell,  somewhat  relieved; 


248  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

*'  be  it  so,  since  it  may  not  be,  as  I  should  deem  for  the 
better.  But  not  the  less  shall  we  prevail  in  this  thing, 
only  hold  thou  my  counsels  secret." 

"I  am  not  wont,"  said  Arden,  not  a  little  ruffled,  "to 
fetch  and  carry ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  I  do  believe  that 
you  mean  honestly ;  to-morrow,  then,  I  shall  resign  my 
seat,  and  straight  go  down  to  the  army." 

"  Farewell,  then,  till  the  springtime  ;  and  then,  tlien, 
Edgar  Arden,  under  command  of  the  right  gallant  Fair 
fax,  full  early  shalt  thou  see  and  own  the  wisdom  of  my 
measures.  The  next  campaign — mark !  mark,  I  say,  my 
words,  for  they  are  of  the  Lord — the  next  campaign  shall 
be  the  last  for  Charles." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE     MOODS     OF     THE     MAN. 

There  exist  moments  In  the  life  of  man, 
When  he  is  nearer  the  great  soul  of  the  world 
Than  is  man's  custom,  and  possesses  freely 
The  power  of  questioning  his  dcstinj'. 

COLEKIDQE,  FROM  SoinLLER.— TJie  Piccolomini. 

SOME  months  elapsed,  as  they  had  both  surmised,  ere 
Arden  was  again  brought  into  contact  with  his  superior 
officer ;  and  in  the  interval,  not  one,  but  all  of  those  great 
changes  which  the  latter  had  predicted  had  indeed  come 
to  pass.  After  much  fierce  contention  the  self-denying 
ordinance,  although  opposed  to  the  utmost  by  Hollis, 
Glin,  and  Stapleton,  and  all  the  leaders  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  faction,  passed  both  houses ;  Fairfax  was  named  chief 
general  of  the  parliament,  and  by  a  series  of  intricate 
manoeuvres,  affairs  were  so  arranged  that  Cromwell,  still 
retaining  his  commission  of  lieutenant-general,  was  not 
required  even  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  commons. 

It  was  ^  an  evil  omen  for  the  royal  party  that  Laud,  af 
ter  remaining  in  confinement  during  four  whole  years  in 
the  tower,  was  now  brought  to  his  trial,  condemned,  and 


THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN.  249 

put  to  death  by  ordinance  of  parliament,  having  in  vain 
produced  a  regular  and  ample  pardon,  under  the  king's 
hand  and  seal.  None,  therefore,  were  surprised  that, 
like  all  former  efforts  at  a  reconciliation,  the  treaty  en 
tered  on  at  Uxbridge  utterly  failed  in  its  results,  the  king 
on  one  side  and  the  commissioners  on  the  other  exhibit 
ing  so  much  of  haughtiness  and  unaccommodating  spirit, 
that,  unless  by  a  miracle,  no  peace  could  have  been  pos 
sibly  concluded.  So  much  time  had,  however,  elapsed  in 
the  debates  at  Westminster,  and  so  late  was  it  in  the  ses 
sion  ere  the  ordinance  became  a  law,  that  the  new  model 
of  the  army  was  not  accomplished  till  the  spring  was  far 
advanced ;  and,  ere  the  Independents  were  prepared  to 
take  the  field,  Charles  had  already  gained  some  trivial 
but  encouraging  successes. 

The  town  of  Leicester  had  been  taken  by  assault,  and 
miserably  sacked  by  the  wild  cavaliers,  who,  as  their 
means  decreased,  fell  more  and  more  into  those  desperate 
excesses  which  rendered,  in  the  end,  their  very  name  a 
byword  for  debauchery  and  license ;  nor  this  important 
city  only,  but  several  other  garrisons  had  been  stormed 
sword  in  hand ;  while  the  new-modelled  army  had  done 
nothing  but  suffer  a  repulse  from  Borstall  House,  and 
made  a  most  unprofitable  demonstration  against  the  uni 
versity  of  Oxford. 

Having  received  false  tidings  that  Fairfax  had  sat  down 
in  form  before  that  city,  which  might  be  deemed  the  cap 
ital  of  loyal  principles,  the  king  marched  hastily  with 
some  eight  thousand  men,  hoping  to  raise  the  siege,  and 
force  the  general  to  a  battle  ere  he  should  be  joined  by 
Cromwell  with  his  cavalry ;  but  hearing,  after  he  had  ad 
vanced  as  far  as  Daventry,  that  Fairfax  was  so  near  him 
as  Northampton,  he  the  same  day  retreated  upon  Har- 
borough,  intending  to  fall  back  to  Leicester,  where  he 
might  draw  more  infantry  from  Newark  to  his  banner, 
and  tarry  the  arrival  of  his  northern  reinforcements. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  June  the  army  of  the  parliament 
took  up  its  quarters  for  the  night  about  a  mile  to  the 
south  of  the  small  town  of  Naseby,  the  ironsides,  with 
Arden's  regiment  of  horse,  being  a  little  in  advance  on 
the  right  wing  of  the  position,  and  occupying  a  command- 
K* 


250  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ing  station  on  a  range  of  gentle  eminences.  It  was  a 
calm  and  lovely  evening,  so  still  and  breathless  that  the 
smallest  rural  sounds,  the  lowing  of  the  cattle  from  the 
rich  pastures  in  the  vale  below,  the  bay  of  mastiffs  from 
the  scattered  granges,  the  hooting  of  the  owls  from  many 
an  ivy-mantled  pollard,  even  the  breezelike  murmur  of 
the  distant  river,  were  clearly  audible,  in  singular  but 
pleasing  contrast  to  the  ruder  sounds  of  the  nocturnal 
camp.  The  moon,  in  unveiled  gorgeousness,  was  hang 
ing  in  a  sky  so  perfectly  transparent  as  is  but  rarely  wit 
nessed  under  the  humid  atmosphere  of  England,  and  mil 
lions  of  bright  stars  were  flashing  like  diamond  sparks  in 
the  unclouded  firmament.  Edgar  had  only  joined  that 
afternoon,  and,  taking  orders  from  the  general  in  person, 
had  not  as  yet  fallen  in  with  Cromwell ;  but  now,  when 
he  had  seen  his  men  duly  provided  with  their  rations, 
his  horses  picketed  and  well  supplied  with  forage,  and  all 
precautions  taken  needful  for  a  night  to  be  passed  under 
arms,  he  made  his  way  along  the  lines  toward  Oliver's 
headquarters. 

Some  two  or  three  tents,  rudely  pitched  about  the  cen 
tre  of  the  ridge,  with  six  or  eight  iieldpieces  in  battery 
before  them,  and  the  red  cross  on  the  blue  field  of  the 
Covenant  drooping  around  its  staff,  from  which  the  gen 
tle  air  had  not  the  power  to  move  it,  readily  showed  him 
whither  to  direct  his  footsteps;  but,  somewhat  to  his 
wonder,  on  reaching  Cromwell's  tent,  the  sentinel  on  duty 
there  informed  him  that  the  lieutenant-general  had  gone 
forth  alone,  beyond  the  outposts  of  the  army,  to  wrestle 
with  the  Lord  in  prayer,  even  as  holy  Samuel  went  forth 
"  to  cry  unto  the  Lord  his  God  for  Israel,  that  he  might 
save  them  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Philistines." 

Anxious,  however,  to  see  him  before  the  morning,  Ed 
gar,  inquiring  of  the  sentinels  and  of  the  scattered  groups 
of  soldiers,  who  were  engaged  cooking  their  evening 
meal  about  the  watchfires,  easily  followed  on  his  track, 
and  at  last,  having  proceeded  some  few  hundred  yards 
beyond  the  farthest  outpost,  discerned  the  figure  of  a 
man  kneeling  upon  the  open  plain  in  the  full  moonlight, 
with  both  his  arms  outstretched  toward  heaven.  The 
clear  light  glanced  upon  the  polished  iron  of  his  rnoriou 


THE  MOODS  OF 'THE  MAN.  251 

and  breastplate ;  and,  even  more  than  this,  the  harsh  tones 
of  the  speaker,  as  he  sent  up  in  vehement  profusion  his 
wild  supplications,  or  remonstrances,  for  such  they  were 
in  fact,  to  the  throne  of  grace,  announced  to  him  dis 
tinctly  that  he  had  found  the  object  of  his  search.  Be 
fore  he  reached  him  Oliver's  prayer  was  ended ;  and,  ri 
sing  from  his  knees,  he  stood,  with  his  feet  a  little  way 
apart,  and  planted  with  colossal  strength  upon  the  mossy 
sod,  gazing  with  an  air  of  calm  enthusiasm  upon  the  glis 
tering  heavens. 

"  And  thou,  bright  ruler  of  my  destinies,"  thus  Arden, 
to  his  deep  astonishment,  heard  him  exclaim,  "  thou  that 
didst  smile  upon  my  natal  hour,  thou  that,  through  every 
change  and  chance  of  this  my  mortal  course,  hast  given 
evident  and  never-failing  tokens  both  of  my  weal  and 
woe ;  thou  that,  when  through  long  years  I  wallowed  un- 
regenerate  and  foul  in  the  abyss  of  low  and  soul-debasing 
sin,  wert  dim  and  clouded  ever  with  thick  darkness ;  thou 
that,  in  after  days,  when,  by  the  gracious  mercy  of  that 
long-suffering  and  beneficent  Lord,  who  willeth  not  the 
death  of  a  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should  turn  from  his 
wickedness  and  live,  my  soul  was  touched  of  grace,  and 
mine  understanding  enlightened  to  the  sinfulness  of  my 
ways,  wert  seen  to  shoot  forth  scintillations  pure  as  the 
seven  living  lamps  that  burn  before  the  throne,  which  are 
the  seven  spirits  of  God  ;  thou  that,  before  the  blood-red 
field  of  Marston,  whereon  the  Lord  vouchsafed  unto  the 
humblest  of  his  servants  to  fight  the  great  fight  and  to 
win  the  crown,  even  the  crown  of  victory,  conjoined  with 
sanguine  Mars  didst  shine  preeminent ;  beam  on !  beam 
on,  with  that  serene  and  placid  gorgeousness,  which  fills 
my  soul  with  the  high  confidence  of  coming  triumph ! 
Ha !  who  goes  there  ?  "  he  shouted,  in  a  sharp,  harsh  key, 
strangely  at  variance  with  the  wild  enthusiastic  accents 
of  his  previous  meditations.  "  Stand,  ho  !  and  give  the 
word !  " 

"  The  sword  of  Levi !  "  answered  Edgar,  promptly  ; 
"  lieutenant-general,  I  greet  you  on  the  eve  of  battle !  " 

"Ha!  Colonel  Arden,  by  the  voice,"  cried  Oliver! 
"  Right  glad  am  I  now  to  encounter  you.  I  heard  of 
your  arrival,  and  truly  I  rejoiced  that  we  should  once 


252  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

more  ride  together  into  the  strife  of  men.  Surely  the 
gentle  beauty  of  the  night  hath  tempted  me  to  wander 
forth  and  commune  here  alone  with  mine  own  spirit.  I 
do  profess  it  is  a  most  fair  scene ;  saw  you  the  stars  at 
any  time  shine  forth  more  gloriously  ?  " 

"  It  is  indeed  a  night  of  most  unusual  beauty  for  this 
our  English  climate,"  Arden  replied,  somewhat  surprised 
at  the  uncommon  turn  the  conversation  had  thus  taken. 
"  I  have  seen  many  such,  however,  in  Italy  and  Spain. 
But  I  knew  not  that  you  were  so  deep  an  admirer  of  na 
ture.  Methought  that  men  had  rather  been  the  subjects 
of  your  observation." 

"  It  is  not  that,  it  is  not  that,"  said  Cromwell,  "  al 
though  all  His  creations  must  needs  be  worth  man's  study. 
But  have  you  no  belief  in  the  connection  of  those  bril 
liant  and  mysterious  twinklers  with  the  career  of  men,  the 
course  of  great  events  ?  " 

"  In  truth  not  I,"  answered  the  other ;  "  nor  do  I  see 
how  such  belief  can  be  consistent  with  the  Christian's 
faith  in  a  supreme  and  all-commanding  Providence." 

"  But  I  do,"  Cromwell  interrupted  him ;  "  I  see  not 
wherefore  the  Eternal  may  not  divulge  a  portion  of  our 
fates  by  means  of  these,  the  most  sublime  of  his  crea 
tions  ;  nor  wherefore  the  appointed  angel,  who  ministers 
to  every  one  of  mortals  unto  righteousness,  may  not  be 
likewise  the  presiding  spirit  over  some  one  of  yonder  glo 
rious  worlds.  I  do  believe  it  fully  ;  yea!  I  have  proved 
it.  Lo !  see  you  not  yon  large  clear  star,  there  to  the 
east  of  Lucifer,  and  higher  toward  the  pole,  brighter  than 
all  the  planets  ?  It  shone  upon  my  birth,  and  from  my 
boyhood  upward  have  I  known  and  marked  the  face  of 
that  fair  sparkler,  and  ever  has  it  varied  with  the  varying 
of  my  fortunes  —  dim  and  most  melancholy  in  my  be 
nighted  days  of  evil,  but  glorious,  as  you  see  it  now, 
when  aught  of  greatness  or  of  glory  was  in  prospect. 
See  how  it  shoots  forth  jets  of  most  pure  light.  No 
other  star  doth  likewise.  Verily,  verily,  the  Lord  shall 
work  great  things  for  us  to-morrow  !  " 

"I  have  heard  tell  of  this  before,"  Arden  replied — "of 
this  your  superstition,  for  so  I  cannot  but  consider  it ; 


THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN.  253 

and  likewise,  that  you  fancy  how  you  saw  a  vision  years 
ago." 

"  Fancy  !  fancy  I  saw  a  vision  ?  "  cried  Oliver  impa 
tiently.  "I  tell  you,  Edgar  Arden,  as  plainly  as  mine 
eyes  behold  you  now,  I  saw  that  dusky  form.  As  clearly 
as  mine  ears  drink  in  your  doubting  accents,  so  clearly 
did  I  feel  the  tones  of  his  immortal  voice.  How  should  I 
fancy  such  things  ?  I  was  then  but  a  boy,  a  wayward, 
headstrong,  and  most  ill-conditioned  schoolboy.  It  was 
a  Sabbath  night,  and  I  lay  wide  awake,  plotting  I  know 
not  what  of  orchard-breaking  or  of  henroost-robbing  for 
the  morrow,  when  suddenly  a  strange  and  thrilling  fear 
crept  over  me.  I  knew  that  I  was  not  alone,  though  I 
savy-  nothing.  I  felt  as  though  a  pair  of  mighty  wings 
were  spread  above  me,  chilling  my  very  soul.  I  would 
have  cried  aloud,  but  my  voice  choked  within  me.  I 
would  have  risen  up  and  fled,  but  could  not  move  a  fin 
ger  ;  and  yet,  although  I  say  it,  I  was  then  bolder  than 
my  years  betokened,  and  feared  not  man  or  devil.  It 
was  a  night  of  murky  darkness,  but  suddenly  a  faint  and 
pallid  light  filled  the  whole  chamber,  not  emanating  from 
one  brighter  point,  but  uniform  as  daylight,  though  very 
dull  and  ghastly ;  my  curtains  were  drawn  suddenly 
asunder,  and  a  tall,  misty  shape  stood  in  the  opening.  I 
tell  you  I  did  see  it  perfectly  and  plainly,  for  I  did  not 
faint,  though  my  flesh  quivered  aguelike,  and  the  cold 
sweat  stood  in  beads  upon  my  brow,  and  my  hair  bris 
tled,  as  instinct  with  life.  There  stood  it  while  I  could 
have  reckoned  twenty,  and  then  a  deep,  slow  voice,  of 
strange  and  solemn  harmony,  rolled  forth  without  an  ef 
fort —  'Arise  !  arise,'  it  said,  'thou  that  shalt  be  the  first 
in  England ! '  It  vanished,  and  all  again  was  darkness, 
but  the  voice  was  tingling  in  mine  ears  when  the  next  sun 
was  high  in  heaven." 

"And  do  you  credit  this?"  asked  Arden,  fixing  his 
eyes  with  something  of  suspicion  on  the  face  of  the  en 
thusiast.  "  Do  you  trust  in  this  prophecy  ?  Does  this 
dream  actuate  your  waking  movements  ?  " 

"And  wherefore  not?"  said  Cromwell;  "the  elder 
Brutus,  he  who  made  Rome  free,  was  called  the  FIRST  IN 
ROME,  and  Father  of  his  Country.  A  man  may  be  the 


254  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

first,  and  yet  not  king,  nor  tyrant.     Cannot  you  credit 
this  ?  " 

t  "  I  fear  me,"  Edgar  answered,  very  gravely,  "  that  this 
vision  was  a  spirit— the  evil  spirit  of  ambition  !  Beware 
1  say,  beware  how  you  give  heed  to  it !  Truly  there  is 
not  much  about  me  of  the  antique  Roman ;  but  did  I 
think,  as  half  I  doubt  even  now,  that  this  same  vision 
were  but  the  working  of  an  unholy  thirst  for  power 
which  may  one  day  induce  you  to  lay  violent  hands  upon 
your  country's  freedom,  I  have  yet  so  much  of  the  Cas- 
sms  in  me  that  I  would  thrust  this  sword,  which  I  have 
buckled  on  to  light  your  battles,  into  your  very  heart 
ere  you  should  live  to  find  your  vision  true  ! " 

"Woe!  woe  is  me,  what  have  I  said?"  cried  Oliver 
apparently  much  moved;  "alack!  alack!  truly  the  flesh 
is  weak,  but  strong  and  sincere  is  the  soul.  Well  hast 
thou  said,  my  friend,  and  rightly  wouldst  thou  do,  should 
1  be  rendered  subject  to  the  temptings  of  the  Evil  One 
Woe  !  woe  is  me,  that  I  should  be  mistrusted ;  surely  if 
this  heart  be  not  honest,  then  there  is  neither  faith  nor 
honesty  in  man.  But  thou,  Lord,  kno west  —  thou  be- 
holdest  —  yea,  thou  searchest  the  most  inward  thoughts 
ol  this  thy  servant.  Continue  me,  then,  oh  thou  merci 
ful  and  mighty  One,  continue  me  thine  instrument,  and 
shield  me  from  the  power  of  the  Evil  One ;  and  be  thy 
word  a  lantern  to  my  feet ;  and  keep  me,  even  as  I  now 
am  thine,  oh  Lord,  thy  servant,  and  thine  only ! "  and 
with  the  words  he  burst  into  a  violent  passion  of  tears 
mingled  with  sobs  so  choking  and  hysterical,  that  Edgar 
was  alarmed,  half  for  the  intellect,  half  for  the  health  of 
the  strange  being  in  whom  he  felt  so  deep  an  interest. 

Within  five  minutes,  however,  the  ecstacy  had  passed 
away  and,  as  if  he  had  forgotten  all  that  had  just  oc 
curred  between  them,  Cromwell  addressed  him  now  in 
the  decided  although  quiet  accents  of  command.  "Soh! 
Colonel  Arden,  you  will  join  your  men  forthwith.  Go 
over  once  again  your  roll-call.  See  all  be  in  right  state 
lor  early  action.  One  hour  hence  report  to  me  your 
numbers  at  my  tent."  And  with  a  slight  but  courteous 
inclination,  he  turned  his  back,  and  walked  away  toward  a 
watchfire  round  which  some  dozen  of  the  ironsides  were 


THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN.  255 

grouped.  Food  was  before  them,  ammunition-bread, 
steaks  of  beef  rudely  cooked  upon  the  embers,  and  a 
black-jack  or  leathern  tankard  of  strong  ale,  while  sev 
eral  pipes  of  Trinidado  were  sending  forth  their  powerful 
fumes  above  the  savory  odor  of  the  viands. 

"  Ho  !  Hezekiah  Sin-despise,"  said  Cromwell,  address 
ing  a  grim-looking  trooper  —  for  he  knew  every  one  of 
his  men  personally  and  by  name — "  how  fare  ye  here  ? 
Have  the  knave  commissaries  dealt  with  you  righteously? 
Surely  you  must  not  fast,  else  shall  the  flesh  be  weak  upon 
the  morrow." 

"  Yea  !  general,"  returned  the  Independent,  "  't  is 
very  righteous  truth.  Wilt  not  thou  taste  thyself,  so 
shaft  thou  judge  how  fares  the  sturdy  but  rough-coated 
private,  on  whom  doth  fall  the  brunt  and  burden  of  the 
service  ?  " 

"  Take  eat !  "  exclaimed  another  of  the  soldiers,  ten 
dering  to  him  a  wooden  platter  heaped  with  beef  and 
bread.  "  Eat,  drink  with  us  to-night,  as  we  shall  fight 
with  thee  upon  the  morrow." 

"  Will  I  not  ?  "  answered  Cromwell,  seating  himself 
beside  the  speaker,  and  helping  himself  heartily  to  the 
plain  but  wholesome  food.  When  he  had  finished  eating 
he  filled  a  cup  of  ale,  and,  nodding  to  the  troopers, 
quaffed  it  until  he  nearly  saw  the  bottom ;  then,  with  a 
hoarse  laugh,  "  'T  were  evil  manners  did  I  not  share  with 
thee,  Born-again  Rumford,"  he  exclaimed,  "  since  thou 
didst  share  so  courteously  with  me  ; "  and,  instantly  suit 
ing  the  action  to  the  word,  he  chucked  the  rinsings  of  the 
cup  full  into  the  broad  face  and  grizzly  mustaches  of  the 
man  Avho  had  supplied  him  with  the  meat. 

"Thou  hast  it,  there  ;  thou  hast  it  fairly,  Born-again," 
shouted  the  soldiers,  much  delighted  by  the  practical  jest 
of  their  stout  leader. 

"  I  know  not,  truly,"  Oliver  continued,  with  a  grim 
smile,  "  whether  indeed  this  Rumford  hath  been  born 
again,  either  in  flesh  or  spirit;  but  this  I  do  know 
of  a  surety,  that  he  is  now  Baptized-again  —  hey,  Rum- 
ford?  Hand  me  a  pipe  of  Trinidado,"  he  continued, 
turning  toward  another  of  the  military  saints,  who  sat 
near,  grinning  heart  and  soul  at  the  rough  witticism. 


256  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  Think  ye  now,  men,  that  Ireton — he  is  jour  commissary 
of  the  horse,  I  trow,  and  sees  to  these  your  rations  — 
think  ye  that  Ireton,  and  Desborough,  and  Rossiter  fare 
anywise  more  daintily  than  you  do  ?  " 

44  Ay,  marry !  "  answered  Rumford,  somewhat  sulkily, 
"  the  private  and  the  officers  be  not  alike  in  anything. 
Saw  we  not  Master  Zedekiah,  Desborough's  secretary, 
bear,  not  five  minutes  since,  a  right  fine  haunch  of  grease, 
and  store  of  flagons  of  Bourdeaux  into  his  master's  tent  ? 
Lo  !  there  go  Rossiter,  and  Jepherson,  and  Fight-the- 
good-fight  Egerton,  to  banquet  even  now  upon  the  fat 
things  of  the  earth !  " 

"  Ha  !  is  it  so  ?  "  cried  Cromwell,  his  eye  lighting  up  ; 
"  verily,  then,  the  kid  shah1  be  preserved  from  out  the 
spoiler's  jaws,  and  given  as  a  feast  unto  the  shepherds ! 
yea !  even  unto  those  who  watch !  See  here,  Baptized- 
again ;  I  go  hence  straightway  to  my  quarters.  Enter 
thou  into  Desborough's  pavilion,  and  summon  them  all 
instantly  to  meet  me  at  my  tent  in  council.  When  ye 
shall  hear  three  taps  upon  the  kettledrum,  then  rush  in, 
all  of  ye,  and  fall  to  bravely  —  spare  not  to  spoil  the 
haunch,  nor  yet  to  drain  the  flagons  —  I,  even  I  myself, 
will  stand  between  ye  and  the  fierce  wrath  of  your 
officers." 

"  Cromwell !  Live  Cromwell !  "  shouted  the  delighted 
soldiers  ;  "now  may  the  Lord  preserve  to  us  valiant  and 
trusty  Cromwell ! " 

The  object  of  their  rude  praises  turned  aside ;  but,  ere 
he  went,  another  rugged  jest  displayed  yet  farther  the 
wild  humor,  which  at  times  possessed  him ;  for,  as  he 
passed  behind  the  back  of  the  tall  trooper  whom  he  had 
addressed  as  Sin-despise,  he  took  the  pipe  out  of  his 
mouth  when  he  had  kindled  its  contents  by  two  or  three 
quick  puffs  to  a  red  heat,  and  struck  the  bowl  so  sharply 
on  the  rim  of  the  man's  corslet,  that  all  the  blazing  ashes 
fell  down  his  neck,  between  the  shirt  and  skin. 

"  Now  may  the  Devil — "  shouted  the  trooper,  spring 
ing  to  his  feet. 

"  Ho  !  swearest  thou  ?  Fy  !  fy !  for  shame  !  "  cried 
Oliver.  "  Orderly  officer,  set  Hezekiah  Sin-despise  down 
in  thy  book,  five  shillings  for  an  oath.  Truly,  thou  shalt 


THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN.  257 

no  more  be  known  as  'Sin-despise,'  but  rather  as  'Over- 
come-by-Sin.' " 

Again  the  soldiers  roared  their  merry  approbation,  till 
Oliver,  surveying  with  a  mirthful  aspect  the  contortions 
of  the  singed  veteran,  and  moved  to  some  compassion  by 
his  rueful  countenance,  drew  forth  his  purse,  and,  taking 
out  the  fine,  handed  it  to  the  non-commissioned  officer. 
"  Our  discipline  must  be  preserved,"  he  said,  "  and  the 
foul  vice  of  swearing  I  do  abhor — yea !  utterly.  But,  in 
that  some  share  of  the  fault  was  mine,  who  tempted  the 
loud  railing  of  this  rash  Rabshakeh,  verily  I  will  pay  the 
sum  in  which  he  standeth  mulcted.  Tush !  twist  not  thy 
self,  man,  to  and  fro,  nor  grin  as  though  it  hurt  thee. 
Methought  my  ironsides  were  proof  'gainst  fire  as  well  as 
steel ! "  and,  without  farther  words,  he  hastened  to  his 
tent,  where  he  found  Arden  waiting  with  the  list  of  his 
returns.  "  When  all  the  council  shall  have  entered  in," 
he  whispered  to  the  sentry  at  the  door,  "  strike  three 
taps  on  the  kettledrum,  and  suifer  none  to  come  in  or  to  go 
out  after."  Scarce  had  he  spoken  ere  the  officers  made 
their  appearance,  Desborough  Avearing  a  marked  air  of 
sullen  discomposure,  and  all  save  Ireton,  whose  spirit  was 
of  a  higher  and  a  nobler  mould,  showing  some  symptoms 
of  vexation. 

"  Give  you  good  evening,  gentlemen ;  please  you  draw 
nigh  to  the  table,"  Oliver  exclaimed,  "  and  make  me  your 
reports.  Beyond  doubt  we  shall  engage  to-morrow." 
And  for  well-nigh  an  hour's  space  he  kept  them  there  en 
gaged  in  various  details  of  military  service,  some,  truly, 
of  importance,  some  trivial  and  almost  unmeaning ;  when 
at  length  all  was  finished.  "  Soh  !  we  have  done  at  last," 
he  said ;  "  have  you  supped,  gentlemen  ?  So  far  as  goes 
a  crust  of  bread  and  cheese,  and  a  good  cup  of  ale  —  cam 
paigner's  fare  —  I  can  supply  you,  if  you  will  tarry  here 
and  eat  with  me." 

"  Thanks,  worthy  general,"  said  Rossiter ;  "  but  in 
good  sooth,  we  were  just  at  the  sitting  down  in  Desbo- 
rough's  tent,  when  that  your  summons  reached  us.  He 
hath,  I  know  not  how,  wrung  forth  a  noble  haunch  of 
venison  and  store  of  Bourdeaux  wine  from  some  misproud 
malignant,  here,  at  Naseby ! " 

17 


258  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  Soh !  soh !  right  creature  comforts — trust  Desbo- 
rough  for  that !  "  Cromwell  replied ;  "  why  spoke  ye  not 
of  this  beforehand  ?  my  business  might  have  tarried ;  but 
let  me  not  detain  you.  Farewell  until  the  morrow." 

"Not  so,  good  sir,"  Desborough  answered,  "please 
you  to  walk  with  us  and  share  our  supper." 

"  Nay,  I  have  supped  already,"  he  replied,  "  with  some 
good  fellows  of  Jepherson's  stout  regiment.  Neverthe 
less,  since  you  be  so  pressing,  I  will  e'en  walk  down  and 
crush  one  cup  of  wine  with  you ;  "  and,  without  farther 
words,  they  all  proceeded,  conversing  gaily  as  they  went, 
toward  the  tent  of  Desborough.  They  reached  it,  and 
how  strange  a  scene  was  there ;  the  canvass  flapping  on 
all  sides  open  to  the  air,  the  lamps  streaming  and  flaring 
in  the  night  wind,  the  seats  around  the  table  occupied  by 
a  dozen  or  so  of  rough-looking  cuirassiers,  quaffing  the 
rich  wines,  hacking  the  now  dismantled  viands  with  knife 
and  dagger,  laughing,  whooping,  and  shouting  in  their 
joyous  revelry,  while  a  score,  at  the  least,  of  others 
waited  till  these  had  finished,  to  fall  in  and  take  their 
turns. 

"  Now  shall  you  see,"  said  Ireton,  who  understood  the 
scene  at  half  a  glance,  to  Arden,  "  our  stout  host,  Desbo 
rough,  foam  like  a  baited  bull.  This  is,  I  warrant  me, 
one  of  the  general's  jests  —  somewhat  rude;  yet  do  the 
soldiers  prize  him  all  the  more  for  them." 

"  Damnation  !  "  muttered  Desborough,  in  violent 
though  smothered  fury,  "but  this  doth  pass  a  joke  1" 

"Yea,  'tis  &  passing  good  one!"  answered  Oliver, 
with  an  attempt  at  wit  which  drew  a  laugh  from  the  ca- 
rousers ;  but  surely  thou  didst  swear  ;  a  line !  a  fine  unto 
our  treasury ;  look  to  it,  Mr.  Commissary !  So,  now, 
these  excellent  good  fellows  have  watched  with  their 
lights  burning,  and  their  loins  girded  up,  and  they  have 
their  reward.  Art  thou  an  hungered,  Desborough  ? 
Nay,  then,  our  worthy  Ireton  will  find  you  rations ;  less 
delicate,  perchance,  than  yon  fat  haunch  that  was,  but  sa 
voring  more  justly  of  the  camp,  and  more  proportionate 
to  the  hard  messes  of  your  fellow-soldiers  in  the  Lord. 
Fy !  fy !  but  this  was  gluttony  ;  and  the  means,  too,  if  I 
mistake  not,  won  by  extortion.  But  enough  of  this. 


THE  MOODS  OF  THE  MAN.  259 

Off  with  ye  to  your  quarters,  ye  well-fed  knaves,  and 
snore  off  this  carousal ;  and  ye,  brave  gentlemen,  though 
supperless,  good  rest  to  ye.  Right  bravely  shall  we  break 
fast  on  the  morrow,  an'  Rupert  keep  his  purpose.  The 
Lord  save  ye  !  " 


CHAPTER  X. 

KASEBY     FIGHT. 

IT  was  a  morn  of  June,  lacked  but  an  hour  of  noon, 
When  we  saw  their  standards  flutter  and  their  cuirassses  shine, 
The  man  of  blood  was  there,  with  his  long  essenced  hair, 
And  Astley,  and  Sir  Marrnaduke,  and  Rupert  of  the  Rhine. 

MACACXAY. 

AT  an  early  hour  of  the  following  morning,  while  the 
east  was  yet  gray  with  the  lingering  shadows  of  the 
night,  the  army  of  the  Independents  drew  out  into  line, 
and  formed  itself  on  ground  of  the  most  advantageous 
nature.  This  was  a  long  range  of  low  hillocks,  domina 
ting  the  whole  plain  or  valley  that  separates  the  towns  of 
Harborough  and  ISTaseby,  the  latter  lying  in  the  flat  a  lit 
tle  to  the  northwest  of  the  parliament's  position.  Their 
centre,  for  the  most  part,  was  made  up  of  musketeers 
and  pikemen,  with  a  good  park  of  field  artillery,  and 
Fairfax's  life-guard  in  the  reserve,  the  whole  com 
manded  personally  by  that  true  gentleman  and  gallant 
soldier.  The  right  wing  was  composed  of  Cromwell's 
ironsides,  with  Rossiter's  and  Arden's  lighter  regiments ; 
while  the  left,  consisting  likewise  all  of  horse,  was  under 
Ireton's  direction. 

All  their  arrangements  were  completed  before  the  first 
flush  of  daylight  broke  through  the  leafy  screens  of  wood 
land  which  fringed  the  eastern  verge  of  that  wide  cham 
paign  ;  but  soon  the  thin  clouds  that  were  scattered  over 
the  summer  sky  assumed  a  rosy  tinge  ;  a  flood  of  golden 
light  succeeded,  and  then  the  great  disk  of  the  sun  him 
self  rushed  up  in  living  splendor  from  the  low  horizon. 


260  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

The  vapors  gradually  melted  from  the  lowlands,  and  dis 
closed  a  beautiful  expanse  of  rural  scenery ;  deep  velvet 
pn  4ures  studded  with  noble  trees,  green  hedges  rich  in 
tlie  flowery  garniture  of  spring,  masses  of  forest  trees 
tin-owing  their  dark  blue  shadows  in  long  checkered  lines 
across  the  laughing  meadows,  all  sparkling  with  the 
morning  dew-drops,  all  clothed,  as  with  a  radiant  mantle, 
in  gay  and  gorgeous  sunshine.  The  cattle  lowed  in  the 
abundant  valleys,  the  lark  sprang  upward  from  the  pearly 
sod,  the  rooks  sailed  forth  upon  their  matin  voyage,  their 
harsh  voices  pleasingly  mellowed  by  the  distance,  the 
hares  limped  through  the  young  wheat,  scattering  the 
dew  from  the  thick  herbage  in  lengthened  mazes ;  but 
not  one  sound  or  sight  was  there  betokening  anything 
but  happiness  and  peaceful  quiet. 

The  royal  host,  meanwhile,  was  also  in  array  some  six 
miles  distant,  on  a  height  just  south  of  Harborough,  and 
posted  yet  more  strongly  than  their  enemies,  could  the 
mad  impetuosity  of  those  whom  Heaven  had  marked  out 
for  destruction  have  tarried  to  avail  itself  of  their  advan 
tage.  But  as  the  day  drew  on,  Rupert,  wrho  led  the  cav 
alry  of  the  king's  right,  leaving  the  centre  under  Lord 
Astley,  and  the  left  commanded  by  the  noble  Langdale, 
still  in  position  on  the  hills,  with  the  life  and  horse  guards 
in  reserve,  dashed  forth,  two  thousand  strong,  to  recon 
noitre.  About  the  same  time  Arden's  regiment  had  been 
detached  for  a  like  purpose ;  but  that  wary  partisan,  feel 
ing  his  way  with  caution  through  the  wood-roads  and  de 
files  of  the  valley,  easily  detected  the  advance  of  the  roy 
alists,  himself  unperceived.  Placing  three  troops  in  am 
bush,  with  instructions  to  check  the  prince's  march  by 
one  deliberate  volley,  and  then  to  fall  back  on  the  spur, 
he  drew  the  rest  off,  and  in  a  short  half  hour  had  the  sat 
isfaction  of  collecting  his  whole  force  under  the  guns  of 
their  position,  Rupert  having  been  fairly  staggered  by  the 
fire  of  his  skirmishers. 

Still,  Avith  his  wonted  obstinacy,  that  rash  leader  per 
sisted  in  believing  that  the  Puritans  were  in  retreat,  and 
despatched  message  after  message,  to  order  first,  and 
then  to  hurry  the  advance  of  the  main  army,  which  left 
its  vantage  ground  and  fatally  descended  into  the  open 


NASEBY  FIGHT.  261 

plain;  so  that,  before  three  hours  had  elapsed,  the  gene 
rals  of  the  parliament  might  see  the  whole  of  the  king's 
host  rushing  like  birds  into  the  fowler's  net.  With  ad 
mirable  foresight  Fairfax  resolved  to  suffer  them  to  clear 
the  broken  country  ere  he  should  attack  them ;  seeing 
that,  if  defeated,  the  enemy  must  be  cut  off  among  the 
lanes  and  passes,  which  would  be  choked  with  fugitives 
the  instant  that  the  battle  should  be  turned  into  a  rout. 
The  ground  immediately  below  the  hill  was  open,  as  was 
the  whole  width  of  the  slope,  excepting  two  or  three 
stout  timber  fences  and  a  group  or  two  of  trees,  which 
were  at  once  pulled  down  or  felled  by  Ireton's  pioneers, 
leaving  as  fair  a  field  for  the  encounter  as  ever  was  de 
faced  and  trampled  into  gory  mire  by  the  death-shock  of 
thousands. 

A  little  after  ten  on  that  bright  summer  morning,  Ru 
pert's  bold  cavaliers  had  cleared  the  woodlands;  the 
heads  of  Astley's  columns  were  seen  slowly  taking  up 
their  ground,  and  wheeling  into  line  to  form  the  centre, 
while  Langdale  with  his  northern  horse  was  toiling  at  a 
full  mile's  distance  in  the  rear  to  bring  up  their  field-ord 
nance.  Still  no  material  opposition  was  offered  to  the 
royalists,  except  that  now  and  then  a  solitary  cannon 
belched  forth  its  snow-white  cloud,  and  hurled  its  shot  with 
terrible  precision  into  the  crowded  files  as  they  debouched 
upon  the  plain. 

But  now  the  trumpets  of  Sir  Marmaduke  were  heard 
upon  the  left,  and  he  appeared  with  all  his  Yorksire  chiv 
alry  ;  though  still  the  cannon  of  the  cavaliers  were  at  the 
least  a  mile  behind,  encumbered  by  the  fat  loam  of  that 
fertile  district.  Still  the  impetuous  Rupert  paused  not ; 
the  instant  that  the  cavalry  of  Langdale  came  into  view 
upon  the  left,  his  bugles  sounded  for  the  charge ;  and 
with  a  cheery  shout,  leading  his  fiery  squadrons,  himself 
the  foremost  man,  he  hurled  himself  against  the  horse  of 
Ireton  with  the  velocity  and  brightness  of  a  thunderbolt. 
Forward  they  rushed,  a  torrent  of  plumes,  scarfs,  and 
rich  embroidery,  their  brandished  rapiers  glittering  aloft 
like  lightning,  and  their  high-blooded  chargers  tearing 
the  turf  to  atoms  in  their  furious  speed.  Such  was  the 
fury  of  their  onset,  that,  neglecting  to  discharge  their 


262  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

carbines,  they  plunged  at  once  into  the  closest  conflict. 
There  was  a  clang  as  of  a  thousand  smiths  plying  their 
iron  trade !  a  shout  that  was  heard,  as  men  say,  at  Har- 
borough !  And  brave  although  they  were,  stubborn  and 
resolute,  the  cavalry  of  Ireton  wavered ;  in  vain  their 
high-souled  leader  strained  every  nerve  and  bled  at  every 
pore  ;  now  here,  now  there ;  rallying,  shouting,  charging ; 
in  vain  he  crossed  swords  with  the  fiery  prince,  and 
checked  him  for  one  moment ;  they  bent,  they  broke, 
they  fled.  Then  flashed  the  pistol-shots,  and  in  unbro 
ken  force  over  them  swept  the  cavaliers !  The  ground  was 
cumbered  with  the  slain ;  but  still,  over  the  dead  and  dy 
ing,  over  the  voiceless  trumpet  and  the  tattered  banner, 
over  the  mute  dismounted  ordnance,  amid  the  groans 
and  blasphemies,  the  shivering  clash  of  steel,  the  neigh  of 
maddened  chargers,  and  the  wild  shouts  of  his  victorious 
troopers,  on  charged  the  daring  leader !  on !  fetlock  deep 
in  gore ! 

"  Now,  an'  he  wheel  upon  our  flank,  the  battle  is  half 
lost  already,"  hissed  the  deep  tones  of  Cromwell  in  the 
very  ear  of  Arden  ;  "  but  lo  !  the  Lord  hath  blinded  him 
— the  God  of  hosts  hath  robbed  him  of  his  understanding! 
See  where  he  drives  along,  heedless  of  aught  save  massa 
cre  and  havoc !  Ho  !  by  the  light  of  heaven  this  day 
shall  crown  the  whole." 

And,  in  good  truth,  neglecting  all,  wild  as  the  whirl 
wind,  that  destroys  and  still  sweeps  on,  bearing  destruc 
tion  it  knows  not  and  it  recks  not  whither,  Rupert  pur 
sued  the  flyers.  Mile  after  mile  they  fled ;  mile  after 
mile  he  followed;  beyond  the  heavy  ordnance,  beyond 
the  baggage  of  the  parliament,  cheering  until  his  throat 
was  parched,  and  his  voice  clove  to  his  jaws ;  slaying  un 
til  his  sword  was  blunted,  and  his  arm  weary  and  ex 
hausted.  Scarce  five  troops  of  the  whole  left  wing  had 
held  their  ground,  and  these  under  the  valiant  Ireton,  as, 
fired  by  the  success  of  their  companions,  Astley's  stout 
infantry  came  steadily  and  firmly  onward,  charged  gal 
lantly  upon  a  stand  of  pikes.  They  were  hurled  back 
ward  as  from  a  castle  wall ;  and  still  that  deep  array  of 
pikes  rolled  onward. 

They  rallied,  and  again  they  charged,   driving  their 


NASEBY  FIGHT.  263 

horses  in  upon  the  serried  spears,  and  firing  their  pistols 
in  the  faces  of  the  sturdy  footmen.  But  the  cavaliers  re 
ceived  them  as  the  bull  receives  the  mastiff,  and  hurls 
him  from  his  unscathed  front.  Their  leader  was  dis 
mounted  and  made  prisoner,  their  bravest  were  stabbed 
down  and  mangled  by  the  goring  pikes ;  they  scattered 
and  fled  diverse.  But  now  the  musketry  awoke,  mixed 
with  the  louder  bellowing  of  artillery ;  and,  save  the 
rolling  smoke-wreaths  which  packed  above  the  hosts  in 
the  calm  hush  of  the  hot  noontide,  and  the  red  glare  that 
ever  and  anon  surged  upward,  and  now  the  waving  of  a 
standard,  and  now  the  flash  of  wheeling  weapons  half 
seen  among  the  volleying  clouds,  nought  could  be  now 
descried. 

Yet  still  the  royal  foot  pressed  on,  unbroken  and  invin 
cible  ;  and  Fairfax,  though  his  lines  fought  stubbornly 
and  well,  and  formed  again  when  shaken  by  the  musket- 
buts  and  halberts  of  the  royalists,  who  hardly  fired  a  shot, 
still  fighting  hand  to  hand,  and  poured  their  volleys  in 
deliberate  yet  fast,  felt  that  he  still  was  losing  ground, 
and  that  the  vantage  of  the  hill  alone  preserved  him. 
On  the  right  of  the  parliament's  array  the  conflict  had 
been  long  delayed,  for  Langdale  had  scarce  formed,  even 
when  Rupert's  charge  had  pushed  the  horse  of  Ireton 
clear  off  the  field ;  and  Cromwell  dared  not  flank  the  foot 
of  Astley,  lest  he  should  be  in  turn  outflanked  by 
Langdale. 

But  now,  with  kettledrum  and  trumpet,  and  shot  of 
carbine  and  of  pistol,  Sir  Marmaduke  advanced  upon  the 
gallop  ;  and  Cromwell,  tarrying  not  to  receive  his  charge, 
swung  forth  his  heavy  squadrons,  with  a  thundering 
hymn,  to  meet  him.  An  officer  rode  forward  from  the 
Yorkshiremen,  as  both  lines  halted  to  reload,  and  Oliver 
dashed  out  in  person  to  encounter  him.  Their  pistols 
were  discharged  in  vain,  for  Cromwell's  bullet  glanced 
from  the  corslet  of  the  cavalier,  and  the  other  fired  at  ran 
dom.  Then  blade  to  blade  they  met ;  a  dozen  passes 
flashed  with  the  speed  of  light  between  them ;  their 
horses  wheeled  and  bounded  obedient  to  the  bit ;  Oliver 
missed  a  parry,  and  his  morion  with  the  chin-strap  sev 
ered  fell  clanging  to  the  ground ;  but,  without  hesitation, 


264  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

in  he  went,  and  hailed  so  thick  a  storm  of  blows  upon  his 
foeman,  that  he  beat  down  his  guard  and  hurled  him  head 
long.  The  whole  passed  in  an  instant ;  before  another  had 
elapsed  the  adverse  lines  were  mingled ;  yet,  as  they 
closed,  Born-again  Rumford  sprang  to  earth,  caught  up 
the  general's  morion,  and  tossed  it  to  his  saddle-bow. 

Hastily,  as  he  gallopped  on,  shouting  his  battle  anthem, 
and  still  at  every  shout  striking  a  cavalier  down  from  his 
saddle,  he  threw  the  morion  on,  but  with  its  peak  behind, 
and  so  unwittingly  fought  on  through  all  that  deadly  strife. 
Equal  in  numbers  and  well-matched  in  spirit,  the  tug  of 
war  was  dubious  and  protracted  between  the  Yorkshire 
horse  and  the  unconquered  ironsides ;  but,  in  the  end, 
Cromwell's  enthusiastic  energy  prevailed,  and  Langdale, 
fighting  to  the  last,  was  driven  from  the  field.  Then ! 
then  was  the  superior  moral  force  of  Oliver's  men  proved 
beyond  doubt.  Obedient  to  the  first  word,  they  drew 
off,  careless  of  plunder  or  pursuit,  although  their  blood 
was  stirred  almost  to  phrensy  by  the  protracted  struggle 
and  by  the  heat  of  their  religious  zeal. 

"  On !  Arden,  on ! "  Oliver  shouted,  as  he  halted  his 
own  five  regiments.  "  Pursue — pursue  !  suffer  them  not 
to  rally ;  support  him,  Rossiter ;  away  !  Break  them  to 
pieces ;  scatter  them !  The  Lord  of  hosts  hath  given  them 
a  prey  into  our  hands !  All  glory  to  the  name  of  our 
God ! » 

And,  as  he  spoke,  he  wheeled  at  once  upon  the  flank 
and  rear  of  Astley's  infantry,  which  still  maintained  the 
conflict  in  the  centre,  slowly  but  steadily  forcing  their 
way  against  the  stubborn  valor  of  the  Puritans. 

One  hope  remained  for  Charles ;  one  only  !  In  the  re 
serve  himself,  with  his  lifeguard,  commanded  by  Lord 
Lindesay,  and  his  own  picked  horseguards,  his  troupe  do- 
r£e  of  nobles,  under  the  Earl  of  Litchlield,  and  Rupert's 
best  foot  regiment,  in  all  some  thirteen  hundred  men, 
fresh  and  unwearied,  who  had  not,  on  that  day,  unsheathed 
a  sword  or  pulled  a  trigger,  he  had  a  fair  occasion  to  draw 
out  and  fall  upon  the  flank  of  Cromwell,  as  he  swept 
round  to  charge  the  foot ;  and  so,  to  do  him  but  free  jus 
tice,  he  proposed. 

Bidding  his  trumpets  sound,  and  drawing  his  own  ra- 


NASEBY  FIGHT.  265 

pier,  sheathed  as  he  was  in  glittering  steel  from  crest  to 
spur,  conspicuous  by  his  broad  blue  scarf  and  diamond 
George,  he  plunged  his  rowels  into  that  snow-white  char 
ger,  rendered  immortal  by  the  deathless  pencil  of  Van- 
dyck.  His  pale  and  melancholy  features  transiently  light 
ed  up  by  strong  excitement,  "  Follow  me,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  follow  me,  all  who  love  Charles  Stuart." 

Full  of  ecstatic  valor,  they  sprang  forth ;  another  in 
stant  would  have  hurled  them  on  the  unexpecting  and 
unguarded  flank  of  Oliver,  who  was  already  hewing  his 
way,  crimson  with  blood  from  plume  to  saddle-bow, 
through  the  now  reeling  infantry.  The  charge  must  have 
been  perilous  to  Cromwell  in  the  extreme  ;  might  have 
destroyed  him  utterly ;  and,  had  it  so  fallen  out,  the  vic 
tory  was  the  king's,  for  Rupert's  scattered  troopers  were 
even  now  beginning  to  return,  and  Fairfax  could  scarce 
hold  his  own.  But  the  charge  was  not  made. 

Whether  from  folly,  cowardice,  or  treason,  it  now  can 
never  be  discovered,  the  Earl  of  Carnewarth,  a  mere  ci 
pher  in  that  band  of  England's  noblest  peers,  seized  on 
the  bridle  of  the  king.  "  Saul  o'  my  body,"  he  exclaimed, 
in  his  broad  Scottish  accent,  "  will  you,  then,  go  upon 
your  death  this  instant  ? "  and,  ere  the  hapless  monarch 
could  comprehend  his  meaning  or  arrest  the  movement, 
he  dragged  his  charger  toward  the  rear. 

Then,  on  the  instant,  a  strange  panic  fell  on  all  around, 
so  that  they  fled  upon  the  spur,  although  no  enemy  was 
near  them ;  and  though,  at  length,  the  king's  exertions, 
who  spurred  through  the  ranks  beseeching  them  to  stand, 
and  even  striking  at  the  fugitives  in  impotent  but  noble 
indignation,  brought  them  to  rally  and  ride  back  toward 
the  field,  the  moment  had  gone  by ! 

It  was  too  late !  For  Fairfax,  when  he  saw  how  Crom 
well  had  succeeded  on  his  right,  and  felt  the  consequences 
of  his  charge  upon  the  royal  foot,  in  the  disorder  of  that 
sturdy  mass,  moved  down  at  once  his  own  lifeguard  from 
the  reserve,  and  brought  it  into  action.  The  prince  had, 
indeed,  just  returned  from  his  insane  pursuit ;  but  his 
men,  deeming  that  their  part  was  played  for  that  day, 
could  not  be  brought  to  form  again  or  charge  by  any  ef 
fort  of  their  leaders. 


266  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

And  now  but  one  battalion  held  its  ground,  a  solid 
square  of  foot,  presenting  an  impenetrable  front  of  pikes 
on  every  side  to  the  assailing  horse,  while  from  its  inner 
ranks  it  poured  a  constant  shower  of  balls,  that  mowed 
down  all  before  it.  Cromwell,  meantime,  was  overthrow- 
in^  everything,  traversing  Astley's  line  from  the  left  end 
wise  toward  the  centre,  when  Fairfax,  wheeling  his  life 
guards  round  upon  the  rear  of  that  undaunted  square, 
charged  it  himself  in  front.  Two  horses  were  shot  under 
him  °  but,  a  third  time  remounting,  he  brought  up  his 
men,  though  shattered  by  the  constant  volleys,  to  renewed 
exertion.  ^In  the  last  deadly  rush  his  helmet  was  torn 
violently  off  by  a  pike's  point ;  the  colonel  of  his  lifeguard 
proffered  his  own ;  but  no !  bareheaded  as  he  was,  he 
dashed  upon  the  spears  ;  he  hewed  his  way  into  that  ser 
ried  band ;  with  his  own  hand  he  cleft  the  ensign  of  the 
regiment,  who  crossed  his  path,  through  morion  and  scull 
down  to  the  very  teeth ;  he  waved  the  captured  banner 
round  his  head,  and  threw  it  to  a  private  for  safe  keeping, 
who  afterward  would  fain  have  claimed  the  honor. 

That  line  of  pikes  once  broken,  in  swept  the  Indepen 
dents  with  the  rush  of  a  springtide;  and,  where  it  fought, 
that  firm  battalion,  refusing  quarter  and  resisting  to  the 
last,  was  trodden  to  the  earth,  annihilated,  but  uncon- 
quered. 

The  victory  was  complete,  the  rout  disastrous !  kven 
to  the  walls  of  Leicester  Cromwell's  fierce  zealots  did  exe 
cution  on  the  flying  cavaliers ;  from  three  miles  south  of 
Hal-borough  to  nine  beyond  it,  the  country  was  one 
widespread  scene  of  flight,  and  massacre,  and  havoc.  Five 
thousand  of  the  royalists  were  slain  or  taken,  from  an  ar 
my  which  had  mustered  but  eight  thousand  in  the  morn- 
ino-.  Two  hundred  wagons,  laden  with  arms  and  bag 
gage,  all  the  artillery  and  colors,  the  royal  standard,  and 
the3  king's  own  carriage,  fell  to  the  victors' share  ;  and, 
above  all,  that  fatal  cabinet  of  letters,  which—though, 
with  a  delicate  and  generous  point  of  honor  not  often  to 
be  met  with  in  such  times,  Fairfax  declined  to  open  them 

when  published  by  the  orders  of  the  parliament,  proved, 

past  all  doubt  or  question,  the  utter  insincerity  of  Charles ; 
and  his  resolve— as  firm  at  the  last  hour  as  when  he  first 


NASEBY  FIGHT.  267 

set  up  his  standard — of  reigning,  if  at  all,  a  monarch  irre 
sponsible  and  absolute. 

That  victory  decided  the  campaign,  and  that  campaign 
the  cause  of  England's  freedom. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


A     GOOD     MAN'S     DEATH-BED. 

There  is  confusion  worse  than  death, 

Trouble  on  trouble,  pain  on  pain, 

Long  labor  unto  aged  breath, 

Sore  task  to  hearts  worn  out  with  many  wars. 

And  eyes  grown  dim  with  gazing  on  the  pilot  stars. 

TKNNYSON. — The  Lotos  Eaters. 

THE  action,  having  raged  incessantly  from  ten  o'clock 
till  one,  sank  into  sudden  silence  after  the  charge  of  Fair 
fax,  which,  like  a  hurricane,  swept  all  before  it ;  and,  be 
fore  another  hour  from  that  time  had  elapsed,  the  field 
was  utterly  deserted,  except  by  those  who,  having  fallen 
hi  the  full  tide  of  violence  and  fury,  now  slept  as  soundly 
and  as  well  upon  the  gory  turf  as  though  they  had  de 
parted  from  their  peaceful  beds  amid  the  weeping  minis 
try  of  friends  ;  or  those  less  fortunate,  who  lay  hopelessly 
writhing  in  their  mortal  agonies,  "  scorched  with  the  death 
thirst,"  and  torturing  the  tainted  air  with  their  unheeded 
lamentations. 

The  hot  sun  poured  his  steadiest  and  brightest  rays  over 
that  scene  of  carnage,  glancing  as  if  in  mockery  upon  the 
gorgeous  dresses,  the  rich  armor,  and  the  noble  steeds, 
lately  so  full  of  fiery  life  and  beauty — which  shed  but  now 
a  halo  of  false  glory  over  the  horrors  and  the  misery  of 
warfare.  The  round-heads  had  withdrawn  to  their  en 
campment  on  the  hills,  and  were  recruiting  themselves, 
after  the  heat  and  labors  of  the  day,  in  that  death-like  and 
absolute  repose  which  is  the  sweetest  balm  to  soul  and 


268  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

body,   equally  exhausted  by  the  tension  of  unnatural  ex 
citement. 

No  plunderers,  those  human  vultures  that  haunt  the 
battle-field  to  render  horror  yet  more  horrible,  crept 
stealthily  among  the  dying  and  the  dead ;  for  such  was 
the  severe  and  ruthless  discipline  of  Cromwell,  that  the 
few  sordid  spirits  who  necessarily  mingled  with  the  high 
enthusiasts  of  freedom  and  religion,  dared  not  even  by 
night,  much  less  in  broad  daylight,  for  their  lives,  to  ex 
ercise  their  odious  calling. 

But  the  ravens  had  already  flocked  in  hundreds  to  the 
plain,  lured  by  the  scent  of  carnage  from  the  wide  wood 
lands  of  Northamptonshire  and  Huntingdon,  and  now  sat 
perched  upon  the  neighboring  trees,  scarcely  waiting,  un 
til  life  should  be  extinct,  to  commence  their  loathsome 
meal,  while  several  large  kites  and  buzzards  sailed  slowly 
round  and  round  in  lofty  circles,  as  fearing  to  alight  while 
any  breath  or  motion  remained  to  their  intended  victims. 
Such  was  the  aspect  of  the  ground  across  which  Edgar 
led  his  men,  returning  from  the  first  pursuit  of  Langdale's 
cavalry,  which  he  had  urged,  his  military  ardor  tempered 
by  Christian  mercy,  no  farther  than  was  needful  to  pre 
vent  their  rallying  that  day ;  and  it  had  given  him  more 
pleasure  than  he  had  felt  for  many  a  month  to  see  with 
what  a  generous  and  British  sentiment  his  men,  though 
hot  in  blood,  the  most  part  wounded  more  or  less  severely, 
and  all  exasperated  by  the  fall  of  many  a  gallant  comrade, 
refused,  even  when  urged  by  the  fierce  exhortations  of 
their  more  fanatical  commanders,  to  strike  an  unresisting 
foeman.  While  they  fought  front  to  front,  their  hearts 
were  hardened  and  their  hands  unmerciful ;  but  when  the 
rush  and  fury  of  the  conflict  had  passed  over,  they  felt 
that  those  poor  fugitives  were  countrymen  and  brothers. 
How  trumpet-tongued  does  this  fact  cry  aloud  in  the  be 
half  of  those  much  slandered  Independents,  whom  it  has 
E leased  the  writers  of  grave,  sober  history,  all  either  Pre- 
itists  or  Presbyterians,  to  represent  as  stern,  morose, 
blood-thirsty,  and  remorseless. 

In  the  protracted  fight  and  in  the  hotly-urged  pursuit 
eight  hundred  only  of  the  royalists  were  slain,  and  of 
these  more  than  three-fourths  occupied  the  ground  where- 


A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATH-BED.  269 

on  they  fought,  cut  down,  flagrante  prcelio,  with  weap 
ons  in  their  hands ;  while  Rupert'#  onset,  and  the  massa 
cre  which  followed  it,  needlessly  savage  and  unsparing, 
alone  cost  Ireton's  brigade  more  lives  than  the  whole 
royal  loss !  The  prisoners,  not  the  slain,  the  prisoners 
and  the  results  were  the  true  tests  and  trophies  of  the 
victory  at  Naseby. 

But  these  were  not  the  thoughts  which  crowded  on  the 
mind  of  Edgar  as  he  rode  sorrowfully  back  across  the  red 
arena  of  his  party's  triumph ;  he  looked  upon  the  dead, 
as  they  lay  stiff  and  cold,  outstretched  in  serried  ranks, 
even  where  they  fought  and  fell,  like  swathes  before  the 
mower's  scythe,  their  feet  toward  their  foemen,  their  grim 
and  gory  faces  turned  up  reproachfully  toward  the  placid 
heaven,  their  backs  upon  their  native  earth,  and  every 
wound  in  front ;  and,  as  he  looked,  in  very  bitterness  of 
heart  he  beat  his  bosom  with  his  hands  till  his  steel  cors 
let  clattered.  Not  one  of  these  but  died,  in  his  own  creed, 
self-justified ;  not  one  but  deemed  himself  a  patriot  and  a 
martyr ;  the  Churchman  as  the  Puritan ;  the  fiery  loyal 
ist  as  the  severe  republican ;  each  battling  for  his  coun 
try's  right ;  each  honestly  believing  his  opponent  the 
rebel  or  the  tyrant !  Alas  for  human  reason !  Alas  for 
human  error !  Alas  for  vanity  and  ignorance,  for  blind 
ness  and  presumption !  Alas  for  right  and  wrong — for 
virtue  and  for  vice  !  Where,  where  on  earth  shall  we 
prove  the  distinction,  how  test  them  here  below,  save  by 
the  arbitration  of  the  false  harlot  fortune,  save  by  the 
worthless  touchstone  of  success  ? 

At  every  step  his  charger's  hoof  plashed  with  a  sicken 
ing  sound  in  the  dark  curdled  gore  that  flowed  commin 
gling  from  the  wounds  of  that  fine  aristocracy,  that  old 
high  stock  of  English  gentlemen,  polished  in  courts,  ath 
letic  and  well-skilled  in  every  manly  feat  or  rural  exercise, 
second  to  none  as  scholars  in  the  forum  or  as  soldiers  in 
the  field,  lowly  in  bearing  to  the  low,  open  and  frank 
among  their  peers,  haughty  and  proud  to  their  superiors ! 
— and  of  that  independent  yeomanry,  fearless,  and  gener 
ous,  and  free,  remote  alike  from  insolence  and  cringing, 
dauntless  and  stanch  in  war,  blunt  and  sincere  in  peace, 
the  children,  tillers,  owners  of  the  soil!  both  races  equally 


270  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"  England's  peculiar  and  appropriate  sons,  known  to  no 
other  land."  And  wh^efore  lay  they  here,  never  to  glad 
den  hall  or  cottage  more,  their  energies,  their  virtues, 
their  devoted  love,  lost  to  their  native  land  forever? 

Was  it,  indeed,  for  England's  good,  was  it,  in  truth,  for 
the  pure  cause  of  liberty  that  they  had  fallen  there,  self- 
immolated  victims,  or  was  it  but  for  man's  insatiate  am 
bition  ?  Was  it,  indeed,  a  trial  between  the  principles  of 
tyranny  and  freedom,  or  a  vain  struggle  between  this  and 
that  oppressor  ?  A  conflict  between  principles  of  legal 
ized  authority  and  arbitrary  sway,  or  a  mere  strife  be 
tween  the  interests  of  Cromwell  and  Charles  Stuart  ? 

Such  were  the  gloomy  thoughts  that  sat  so  heavy  at 
the  heart  of  the  young  conqueror ;  such  the  unanswered 
doubts  that  led  him  almost  to  distrust  himself,  almost  to 
curse  the  hour  when  he  had  joined  the  standard  of  the 
parliament ;  but  it  was  not  long  ere  more  immediate  cares, 
sorrows  more  near  and  kindred,  diverted,  if  they  could 
not  overpower,  the  half  prophetic  achings  of  his  patriotic 
soul.  The  course  which  Langdale's  fugitives  had  taken, 
far  to  the  right  hand  of  the  field,  prevented  him  on  his 
return  from  meeting  the  main  tide  of  the  king's  army, 
which,  scattered  irretrievably,  covered  the  plain  toward 
Harborough.  He  therefore  rode  directly  to  the  post  of 
Cromwell.  It  was  near  three  of  the  afternoon  when  he 
arrived,  and  found  the  leader  of  the  ironsides  mounted 
again  and  at  the  head  of  his  brigade,  refreshed  by  their 
brief  halt,  about  to  set  forth  instantly  in  the  pursuit.  Be 
fore  he  started  on  his  march,  however,  he  handed  several 
letters  to  an  orderly  dragoon,  who  stood,  booted  and 
spurred,  with  a  broad  leathern  belt  and  a  dispatch  bag 
buckled  round  his  waist,  waiting  his  orders. 

"  This,"  he  said,  "  this  to  the  honorable  William  Len- 
thall,  the  speaker  of  the  commons  house  of  parliament — 
with  your  own  hand,  remember,  your  own  hand  ! — this  to 
the  worshipful  Lord  Say — this  to  good  Master  Milton — 
a.nd  now  get  you  gone ;  let  not  the  grass  grow  under 
your  horse's  hoofs — be  swift  and  trusty.  Ha !  Colonel 
Arden,"  he  continued,  his  brow  overclouded  as  he  saw 
him,  "  a  word  with  you  apart."  Then,  as  he  drew  him  to 
one  side,  "  truly  the  Lord,"  he  said,  "  hath  blessed  the 


A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATH-BED,  271 

general  cause  with  mighty  triumph ;  I  may  say  with  a 
great  and  crowning  mercy ;  and,  therefore,  it  behooves 
us  not,  with  weak  and  fainting  hearts,  to  sorrow  over- 
deeply  for  our  own  private  griefs.  Surely  whom  the 
Lord  loveth  most  he  chasteneth.  Is  not  this  righteous 
truth?" 

"Undoubtedly,"  Edgar  replied,  not  unsurprised  by 
the  peculiar  manner  of  his  leader ;  "  undoubtedly  it  is ; 
but  wherefore  say  you  this  to  me  ?  " 

"  Yea  !  and  he  tempereth  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. 
So  may  he  temper  it  to  thee,  humbly  and  fervently  I  trust, 
honest  and  valiant  friend,  in  thy  time  of  affliction.  Much 
have  I  prayed  and  wrestled  with  the  Lord,  since  I  did 
hear — " 

"  What — what  ?  I  pray  you  speak,  lieutenant-general, 
if  you  know  aught  concerning  me  or  mine.  There  need- 
eth  not  this  tampering  with  the  subject ;  I  can  endure  to 
hear  anything  of  affliction  human  tongue  can  tell  me." 

"Be  you  so  strong?"  said  Cromwell;  "man,  then, 
your  heart ;  for,  of  a  truth,  your  father  is  a  prisoner  in  the 
camp,  sore  wounded — ay,  unto  death,  I  fear  me." 

"  Where  lies  he  ?  "  Edgar  inquired,  with  a  voice  so  pre- 
ternaturally  calm  that  Oliver  himself  gazed  at  him  won 
dering.  "  Hath  he  had  any  help  ?  " 

"  I  caused  him  to  be  borne,"  Oliver  answered,  "  down 
to  the  village  yonder,  even  unto  the  house  of  the  Episco 
palian  priest ;  two  of  his  own  domestics  are  about  him,  and 
General  Fairfax  hath  sent  his  own  chirurgeon ;  you  were 
best  hasten,  though,  if  you  would  see  him  living.  I  march 
forthwith ;  but  tarry  you  behind  until  the  fourth  day 
hence — so  long  may  I  dispense  with  you.  Then  join  me 
at  the  half-way  house  'twixt  Harborough  and  Leicester, 
at  the  first  hour  after  noon.  Farewell,  and  may  the  Lord 
look  down  on  you ! "  The  trumpets  sounded,  and  the 
ironsides  filed  oif  at  a  sharp  trot,  and  Edgar,  mounting 
hastily  on  a  fresh  horse,  and  calling  several  of  his  body- 
servants  to  attend  him,  rode  furiously  away  along  the 
broken  lanes  toward  Naseby. 

The  vicarage  was  a  low  rustic  tenement,  distinguished 
from  the  neighboring  cottages  by  nothing  but  its  superior 
neatness,  and  its  close  vicinity  to  the  square  ivy-mantled 


272  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

tower,  and  the  yew-shadowed  yard,  with  its  low  mossy 
graves,  of  the  small  village  church.  A  noble  lime-tree, 
with  myriads  of  bees  humming  and  revelling  amid  its 
scented  blossoms,  overhung  the  grassplot  in  the  front,  and  a 
thick  growth  of  honeysuckle  crept  over  the  whole  building, 
curtaining  porch  and  roof  with  its  close-matted  verdure, 
and  peeping  with  its  honeyed  trumpets  through  the  lat 
ticed  casements.  Each  hut  and  cottage  through  the  ham 
let  had  been  converted  into  a  temporary  hospital  for  the 
reception  of  the  wounded  from  the  near  battle-field ;  but, 
by  the  group  of  horses,  guarded  by  a  stout  knot  of  troop 
ers,  and  the  two  sturdy  sentinels  who  kept  the  door,  the 
son  knew  instantly  that  here  lay  his  father.  Curbing  his 
horse  so  violently  up  that  he  had  well-nigh  fallen  on  his 
h.'iunches,  he  sprang  down,  and  rushed  under  the  low 
doorway.  Just  as  his  foot  was  on  the  threshold,  a  person 
whom  he  judged  to  be  the  surgeon  was  passing  outward. 

"  How  fares  he  ?  "  Edgar  gasped,  the  words  half  chok 
ing  in  his  throat ;  "  how  fares  your  patient  ?  Have  you 
any  hope  ?  " 

The  man  of  healing  shook  his  head.  "  None — not  the 
slightest,"  he  replied ;  "  the  ball  hath  severed  all  the  main 
intestines.  The  hemorrhage  has  ceased  externally,  and 
he  is  easier  now ;  mortification  must  ensue ;  he  cannot 
live  six  hours.  I  have  done  all  I  may  in  quieting  his  ago- 
nios  ;  man  can  no  more." 

Bending  his  head  to  veil  the  bitter  anguish  that  racked 
his  manly  features,  Arden  passed  onward ;  directed  by  a 
gesture  of  the  silent  sentinel,  he  entered  the  small  parlor ; 
and  there,  upon  a  temporary  couch,  the  window-curtains 
drawn  aside,  the  lattices  thrown  open  to  admit  the  slight 
est  draught  of  air  that  might  be  stirring,  the  old  steward 
of  his  household  wiping  the  death-sweat  from  the  massive 
brow  and  long  gray  locks  of  his  loved  master,  while  the 
big  tear-drops  fell  like  rain  down  his  own  withered  cheeks, 
and  the  white-bearded  vicar  kneeling  in  silent  prayer  beside 
the  death-bed  of  the  cavalier,  there  lay  his  father,  with  his 
high  features  pale  and  sharpened  by  the  near  approach  of 
death,  and  the  froth  gathering  round  his  bloodless  lips, 
and  the  dark  drops  of  icy  perspiration  bursting  from  every 
pore  of  his  broad  temples. 


A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATH-BED.  273 

No  groan  or  murmur  passed  the  mouth  of  the  calm 
sufferer,  but  one  sad,  querulous,  and  oft-repeated  cry, 
"  Comes  he  not  yet  ? — not  yet  ?  "  but  when  the  foot  of 
Edgar,  lightly  although  he  set  it  on  the  floor,  clinked 
with  its  jingling  spurs  upon  his  ear,  he  started  half  erect, 
and  drew  his  hand  across  his  eyes  as  if  to  clear  away  the 
gathering  mists.  "  'T  is  he,"  he  cried,  in  tones  distinct 
and  clear  from  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  a  faint 
flush  lighting  up  his  ashy  cheeks,  but  instantly  departing, 
"  'tis  he  at  length ;  thank  God !  my  son  !  "  and  into  that 
son's  arms  he  sank,  and  lay  there  as  contentedly  as  though 
no  cloud  of  anger  or  mistrust  had  ever  come  between 
them,  smiling  up  with  a  faint  but  most  kind  smile  into  his 
face,  and  clasping  his  convulsed  and  trembling  hand  with 
all  the  little  strength  his  mortal  wound  had  left  him.  For 
many  moments  Edgar  could  find  no  voice ;  his  whole 
frame  shook  with  agony ;  he  sobbed  as  though  his  very 
heart  would  burst,  gazing  upon  the  countenance  of  that 
loved  parent  with  dry  and  burning  eyes,  and  a  throat 
choked  by  the  convulsive  spasms  of  a  tearless  sorrow. 

"  My  boy,  my  own  boy,  Edgar,"  the  old  man  faltered 
forth,  at  length,  "  take  not  on  thus — oh !  take  not  on  thus 
bitterly.  'Tis  but  the  course  of  nature.  The  old  must  die 
before  the  young ;  and  I — why  I  have  fallen  full  of  years 
and  full  of  honor,  although  myself  I  say  it — and  I  am 
glad  to  die  thus — thus,  with  your  arms  about  me,  Edgar. 
But  I  have  much  to  say  to  you ;  and  I  can  feel  that  my 
time  grows  very  short  to  say  it.  Our  reverend  friend,  to 
whom  I  owe  so  much,  good  Master  Winterfield,  will  par 
don  us  a  little  while  ;  and  Anthony,  old,  faithful  Anthony, 
will  leave  us.  We  have  not  met  in  many  days,  and  we 
would  fain  be  private  ere  we  part,"  and  his  voice  failed  a 
little,  and  a  tear  stood  in  his  clear  gray  eye ;  "  part,  as 
we  must,  forever.  We  will  recall  you,"  he  continued, 
"  presently,  for  I  would  fain  pray  with  this  holy  man  ere 
I  go  hence  to  stand  before  my  Maker."  There  was  a 
pause — a  long,  sad  pause,  as  all  obeyed  his  words,  broken 
by  nothing  but  the  hard  breathing  of  the  wounded  man 
and  the  strong  sobbing  of  the  mourner. 

"  Edgar,"  the  old  man  said  at  length,  "  are  we  alone  ? 
Have  they  all  left  us  ? "  and  then,  his  question  being  an- 
L*  18 


274  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

swered,  "  This  is  a  sorrowful  yet  a  most  happy  meeting ;  for 
I  feel,  I  feel  here,"  and  he  laid  his  hand  upon  his  breast, 
"that  that  kind  heart  of  yours  has  pardoned  all  the 
wrongs,  the  cruel  and  unmanly  wrongs,  which  I  have 
heaped  upon  you.  Is  it  not  so,  my  boy,  my  kind  and  no 
ble  boy  ?  » 

"Oh!  speak  not  thus,"  he  answered,  when  he  could 
force  a  word,  "  oh !  speak  not  thus,  my  father ;  you  have 
been  ever  good ;  too  generous !» too  good !  'T  is  I — 't  is 
I  alone,  may  Heaven  forgive  me,  that  have  been  to  blame. 
Say  only  that  you  pardon  me,  and  bless  me,  oh,  my  father." 

"  No !  no  !  "  exclaimed  Sir  Henry,  with  more  of  energy 
than  he  had  spoken  yet.  "  I  will  not ;  I  do  not ;  for  I 
have  nought  to  pardon.  Never,  never  from  your  earliest 
years,  have  I  had  cause  for  anything  but  joy  and  pride  in 
you.  And  you  were — yes,  you  were  the  joy,  the  pride, 
the  only  anchor,  the  last  stay  of  my  lone  widowed  heart, 
till  England  became  mad,  and  this  accursed  and  unnatu 
ral  war  rushed  over  us,  tearing  asunder  every  gentle  link 
and  blighting  every  warm  affection.  But  I  have  nothing, 
even  here,  to  pardon — for  I  have  been,  even  here,  alone 
to  blame !  But  I — I  too  was  mad !  " 

"  Oh !  no  !  "  cried  the  repentant  son ;  "  it  was  my  duty 
to  obey  you ;  to  bear  with  you ;  to  do,  in  everything, 
your  bidding — " 

"  Not  so ! "  Sir  Henry  once  more  interrupted  him. 
"'Tis  no  man's  duty  to  obey  in  things  against  his  con 
science  ;  and  I  was  but  a  fool,  an  obstinate  and  merciless 
old  fool,  that  would  not  even  hear  you.  Nay,  more  ! 
nay,  more  !  "  he  cried,  wringing  his  hands  with  mental 
torture,  "rash,  miserable  sinner  that  I  am,  I  would  have 
slain  you  but  for  that  sweet  girl — slain  you,  that  would 
have  never  been  within  my  power  but  for  your  seif-devo- 
ting  efforts  to  preserve  me.  And  I  have  slain  your  quie 
tude,  your  peace  of  mind  forever !  blasted  your  hopes  of 
fireside  happiness,  banished  you  from  the  dwelling  of  your 
fathers,  robbed  you,  ay,  robbed  you  of  your  heritage,  di 
vorced  you  from  your  bride,  cut  short  your  hopes  of 
leaving  your  high  name  to  sons  as  glorious  as  yourself. 
All  this — all  this,  and  much  more  have  I  done — much 
more ! " 


A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATH-BED.  27f 

As  he  spoke,  he  sank  back  quite  exhausted  by  his  own 
vehemence-;  but,  in  a  moment,  disregarding  the  entreat 
ies  of  his  son  that  he  would  not  wear  out  his  faculties 
with  this  most  needless  passion,  "  I  will — I  will,"  he  an 
swered  ;  "  I  will  go  through  with  my  confession.  Reach 
me  that  cup,  and  hear  me ; "  he  drained  the  draught  of 
some  mild  opiate  mingled  with  wine  and  water,  and  pro 
ceeded.  "  Much  more  of  deadly  sin  than  this !  I  am  the 
murderer  of  Sibyl."  For  an  instant  Edgar  fancied  that 
his  intellect  had  failed  him,  and  gazed  hopelessly  upon  his 
face ;  but  there  was  no  glare  of  insanity,  no  idiot  va 
cancy  in  those  high  pallid  features.  "  Yes !  "  he  contin 
ued,  "  I  have  murdered  her.  Have  I  not  seen  her  grow 
ing  paler  day  by  day,  and  thinner,  and  more  delicate  and 
frail  ?  Have  I  not  seen  her  pining  hourly  away,  wither 
ing  beneath  the  blight  of  her  affections,  like  flowers  be 
neath  the  earliest  frost  winds,  and  yet,  at  every  hour, 
more  patient,  and  more  angel-like,  and  more  unearthly  in 
her  pure,  holy  loveliness  ?  and  I  have  done  this  also — 
this  "foul  and  gradual  murder  !  and  she  will  waste  away 
before  her  time,  and  sink  by  inches  into  the  cold  dark 
grave,  blessing  her  slayer  as  she  dies !  And  thou,  too, 
thou,  my  son,  wilt  live  a  sorrowing  and  solitary  thing ; 
for  thy  strong,  noble  soul  will  not  succumb  to  any  vio 
lence  or  spite  of  fortune ;  alone  upon  the  earth,  like  the 
last  oak  of  a  Druid  grove,  when  all  its  brother  trees  have 
fallen  by  the  woodman's  ax,  magnificent  and  flourishing 
and  stately,  yet  sad  in  all  its  dignity,  friendless,  compan- 
ionless,  alone !  and  with  the  worm,  the  never-dying 
worm,  busily  gnawing  at  its  heart — yet  happier  than  thee 
in  this,  that  't  was  not  by  a  father's  hand  its  green  com 
panions  fell ;  not  by  a  father's  hand  that  the  destroying 
worm  was  thrust  into  its  bosom !  No,  no !  it  cannot  be — 
you  can  not  pardon  me  !  " 

"  All  this,"  said  Edgar,  calmly,  yet  much  moved,  though 
smothering  his  emotion ;  "  all  this  is  but  the  work  of 
Heaven.  The  Lord  hath  willed  it  so,  and  we  are  but  the 
instruments,  the  wretched  instruments,  within  the  hollow 
of  his  hand.  If  you  have  erred,  as  I  say  not  you  have, 
you  erred  in  honor,  and  believing  yourself  justified  ;  but 
if  it  be  a  comfort  to  you,  hear  me  now,  on  my  knees,  be- 


276  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

side  your  dying  bed,  declare,  that  never,  never,  for  one 
short  moment,  have  I  felt  any  wrath  or  bitterness,  never 
known  any  feeling  toward  you,  dearest  and  most  honored 
father,  save  the  most  deep  heart-springing  reverence  and 
love.  Sorrowed  I  have,  and  deeply,  that  you  misjudged 
my  actions,  and  disapproved  the  course  my  conscience 
bound  me  to  pursue  ;  but  never  have  I  thought  of  you  as 
wronging  me ;  never  presumed,  nor  even  wished  to 
blame  you.  But  yet,  if  there  be  aught  for  which  you 
need  forgiveness  from  a  child,  with  all  my  heart,  with  all 
my  soul,  in  sight  of  men  and  angels,  I  bless  you  and  for 
give  you,  oh  my  father." 

"And  bless  you,"  cried  the  old  man,  "my  noble-hearted 
boy.  Heaven  bless  you — and  it  will — it  must  bless  such 
as  you,  and  prosper  you  with  all  its  choicest  stores,  and 
make  you  tenfold  compensation  for  your  past  and  present 
sorrows ; "  and  he  drew  down  the  lips  of  Edgar  to  his 
own,  and  clasped  his  arms  about  his  neck,  and  their  tears 
mingled  long  and  silently,  and  their  prayers  went  up  to 
gether  to  the  throne  of  mercy ;  and  with  tho'se  tears  and 
that  embrace,  the  bitterness  passed  by,  the  iron  was 
drawn  out  from  the  old  warrior's  soul. 

The  clergyman  returned,  the  simple  but  aifecting  ser 
vice  of  the  church  was  feelingly  performed,  the  last  most 
holy  rite  partaken,  both  by  the  son  and  sire,  the  servants 
were  called  in,  the  faithful  followers  of  their  lord  through 
weal  and  woe,  and  a  faint  smile,  a  sad  farewell,  a  kindly 
pressure  of  the  honored  hand,  dismissed  each,  weeping, 
not  as  for  a  master,  but  rather  as  for  a  friend  and  father, 
from  the  low  chamber ;  and  once  again  the  father  and  the 
son  were  left  in  solitude. 

There  they  remained  for  hours ;  the  old  man,  while  his 
painful  breathing  shook  the  couch  beneath  him,  calm,  pa 
tient,  and  serene — the  stately  son  bowed  down,  and  bent, 
as  if  by  age,  clasping  the  languid  hand  that  grew  at  ev 
ery  instant  sensibly  colder  and  more  pulseless,  and  sor 
rowing  as  one  who  would  not  be  consoled,  although  he 
choked  his  anguish,  lest  it  should  but  increase  his  father's 
sufferings. 

The  bright  warm  sun  had  long  since  sunk  into  the 
west,  and  his  last  flush  had  faded  from  the  sky ;  yet  so 


A  GOOD  MAN'S  DEATH-BED.  277 

mild  was  the  evening  air  that  every  lattice  was  still 
thrown  wide  open,  and  the  rich  odor  of  the  woodbine 
and  sweetbrier  rose  more  profusely  on  the  senses,  when 
the  plants  were  steeped  in  the  pure  dews  of  summer. 
And  now  the  dark  blue  skies  grew  gradually  lighter,  as 
the  moon,  near  her  full,  soared  slowly  and  serenely  over 
the  distant  trees.  There  was  a  whispering  of  the  breeze 
in  the  top  branches  of  the  lime,  and  from  the  odorous 
shrubs  in  a  far  corner  of  the  garden  a  solitary  nightingale, 
awakened  by  the  glorious  lustre  of  the  planet,  started  at 
once  into  its  wild  and  melancholy  flood  of  song. 

The  dying  man,  who  had  sunk  into  a  long  and  tranquil 
slumber,  moved  now  uneasily ;  he  made  an  effort  to  turn 
over,  and  the  pain  caused  by  the  motion  aroused  him. 
"  Sibyl,"  he  muttered,  hardly  yet  awake,  "  Sibyl,  your 
song  is  wondrous  sweet  to-night,  but  why  so  sad  ?  it 
should  be  gay  as  summer  after  this  blessed  union.  Ah !  " 
he  continued,  "ah!"  as  consciousness  returned,  "I 
dreamed — I  have  slept  pleasantly,  and  dreamed  a  most 
delicious  dream.  Is  it  late,  Edgar  ?  " 

"  The  clock  hath  just  chimed  ten,"  Edgar  replied,  "  I 
would  have  called  for  lights,  but  feared  to  waken  you ; 
shall  I  now  do  so  ?  " 

" No,"  he  said  faintly,  "no,  it  matters  not  now.  How 
calm  it  is,  and  sweet.  The  blessed  moonlight  streams  in 
through  the  casement  like  Heaven's  own  mild  forgiveness 
into  a  sinner's  bosom.  Edgar,  when  I  am  gone,  say  to 
iny  poor,  poor  Sibyl,  that,  on  my  happy  death-bed,  my 
sole  regret  was  that  I  could  not  join  her  hand  with  yours 
forever.  She  will  be  yours  now,  now  that  this  miserable 
war  is  ended ;  for  it  is  ended,  Edgar,  and  I  regret  its 
termination  less  that  I  have  lately  seen  much  in  Charles 
Stuart — in  the  king — that  I  had  disbelieved  or  shut  my 
eyes  upon  before.  He  hath,  I  must  confess  it,  dealt  in 
sincerely  with  his  nearest  counsellors.  He  hath  kept  up 
a  secret  intercourse  with  the  wild  Irish  rebels,  through 
that  ill-minded  Antrim;  and,  I  much  fear  me,  he  was 
privy  to  and  instigated  their  first  bloody  rising  under  the 
bigoted  and  barbarous  O'Neill.  Weak,  obstinate,  and 
prejudiced  he  is,  beyond  all  doubt,  proud  and  uxorious. 

"  I  know  that  he  stands  pledged  in  private  to  his  queen 


278  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

never  to  give  peace  to  his  people  unless  by  her  consent ; 
and  all  this  is  done  against  the  counsels  and  without  the 
knowledge  of  those  men  who  have  a  right  to  counsel 
him,  ay !  and  to  know  his  measures  ;  since  for  him  they 
have  risked  their  all ! — done  in  deep  malice  to  his  ene 
mies — in  deeper  guile  to  whom  he  calls  his  friends !  Out ! 
out!  I  say,  upon  such  kingcraft!  A  good  man  he  may 
be,  but — it  will  out — a  bad  king !  But  enough  of  this. 
She  will  be  yours,  and  you  will  both  be  happy  yet,  as  I 
am  now,  most  happy  !  How  soothing  is  that  sad  bird's 
note ;  I  could  almost  believe  it  is  prophetic — how  beauti 
ful — how  beautiful !  " 

He  was  again  for  some  time  silent,  as  though  absorbed 
in  listening  or  in  thought ;  and  Edgar,  who  well  knew  his 
end  was  very  near  at  hand,  was  motionless,  and  almost 
breathless ;  his  heart  was  far  too  full  for  words.  At 
length  the  old  man  spoke  once  more,  but  now  his  voice 
was  very  faint  and  low,  and  all  his  accents  were  so  altered 
that  his  nearest  friend  could  not  have  recognized  a  tone  ; 
and  his  wrords  came  at  intervals,  quivering,  and  slow,  and 
interrupted.  "  How  exquisite,"  he  said,  "  how  exquisite 
this  tranquil  bliss.  Never — no,  never — felt  I  such  com 
plete  peace  before — such  perfect  happiness.  Edgar — my 
time — is  drawing — near.  My  feet  grow  numb  and  cold. 
Kiss  me — boy — kiss  me.  The  bird  hath  ceased  his  song." 

Even  while  he  spoke,  its  tones  were  filling  every  cor 
ner  of  the  chamber  with  its  most  thrilling  melody. 

"  The  moon  hath  set." 

Yet  she  was  streaming  full  on  his  uncurtained  couch. 

"  All — all  is  dark — and  silent.  Time — it  is  time — to 
die!  My  boy — my  own  boy.  Bless  you — Sibyl! — 
Sibyl !  " 

It  was  all  over — the  spirit  had  departed  to  its  God. 


OLIVER  CROMWELL 


BOOK  in. 


There  can  be  slain 
No  sacrifice  to  God  more  acceptable 
Than  an  unjust  and  wicked  king. 

MILTON— From  Seneca. 


BOOK     III. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A    POET'S    DBEAM    FOE,    ENGLAND. 

THE  abuse  of  greatness  is  when  it  disjoins 

Remorse  from  power;  and,  to  speak  truth  of  Caesar, 

I  have  not  known  when  his  affection  swayed 

More  than  his  reason.    But  'tis  a  common  proof 

That  lowliness  is  young  ambition's  ladder, 

Whereto  the  climber  upward  turns  his  face; 

But,  when  he  once  attains  the  topmost  round, 

He  then  unto  the  ladder  turns  his  back, 

Looks  in  the  clouds,  scorning  the  base  degrees 

By  which  he  did  ascend.  JULIUS  C^SAR. 

Two  full  years  had  gone  round  since  the  defeat  of 
Naseby  had  paralyzed  the  efforts  and  destroyed  the 
hopes  of  Charles  Stuart's  party.  During  all  the  remain 
der  of  that  fatal  year,  even  when  winter  had  set  in  with 
its  most  keen  severity,  the  arms  of  Cromwell  swept  like 
a  hurricane  over  the  western  and  the  midland  counties. 
No  leader  could  compete  with  him  on  terms  of  vantage 
or  equality ;  no  forces  stand  against  him  in  the  field ;  no 
town  or  garrison  resist  his  prowess.  Chief  after  chief 
was  beaten  in  detail ;  stronghold  upon  stronghold  sur 
rendered,  or  was  stormed  sword  in  hand ;  until,  to  end  the 
whole,  Winchester  and  the  long-disputed  post  of  Basing 
House  were  taken,  and  Astley,  on  the  21st  of  March,  the 
sole  commander  of  the  king's  now  at  the  head  of  any 
power,  suffered  so  total  a  defeat  at  Stow-on-the-Wold, 
being  himself  made  prisoner,  with  sixteen  hundred  of  his 
men,  that  he  said  frankly  to  his  captors,  "  My  masters, 


282  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

you  have  done  your  work,  and  may  go  play,  unless  you 
please  now  to  fall  out  among  yourselves." 

His  fortunes  in  the  field  being  thus  utterly  disastrous, 
after  some  fruitless  efforts  at  negotiation  with  the  parlia 
ment  and  with  the  Independent  leaders,  negotiation 
marked  by  all  his  usual  chicane  and  insincerity,  on  the 
fifth  day  of  May  Charles  threw  himself  into  the  quarters 
of  the  Earl  of  Leven,  then  besieging  Newark.  How  the 
Scots  dealt  with  their  unhappy  monarch  —  who,  whatso 
ever  were  his  faults,  undoubtedly  confided  in  their  honor 
— the  world  knows,  for  it  has  become  a  brand  of  national 
reproach.  How — treated  from  the  moment  when  they 
found  he  would  not  guarantee  their  Covenant,  and  prom 
ise  to  establish  Presbyterian  rule  throughout  the  land, 
not  as  a  prisoner  merely,  but  with  indignity  and  insult — 
how,  Judas-like,  they  sold  him  to  the  parliament,  and 
gave  him  up  to  Skippon,  like  a  mere  thing  of  merchan 
dise,  on  payment  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds,  is 
history. 

But  not  so,  or,  at  least,  not  generally  known  as  such, 
that  it  was  several  times  in  the  unfortunate  king's  power 
to  escape  to  France  or  Holland,  but  that  the  menacing 
and  angry  letters  of  his  false  queen,  who  had  her  own  pe 
culiar  reasons  for  dreading  a  reunion  with  her  injured  hus 
band  at  this  moment,  prevented  him  till  it  was  all  too 
late,  and,  in  effect,  consigned  him  to  the  block.  That 
the  uxorious  and  weak  king  was  mainly  prompted  to  the 
war  by  the  ill  counsels  of  his  adulterous  wife,  is  evident. 
Her  pride,  her  education,  her  hereditary  prejudices,  her 
self-will,  nay,  her  very  birth  itself,  made  it  but  natural 
that  she  should  aim  at  arbitrary  power,  and  urge  her  hus 
band,  himself  obstinate  as  weak,  to  that  insane  and  suici 
dal  policy  which  ultimately  proved  his  ruin.  But  that, 
herself  in  safety,  she  should,  with  cool,  determined  infi 
delity,  insist  on  his  remaining  among  his  deadly  enemies, 
when  hope  was  itself  at  an  end,  would  seem  incred 
ible,  were  it  not  fixed  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  existence 
of  her  threatening  letters,  and  his  heart-broken  answers. 

Immediately  on  his  surrender  to  the  parliament  he  was 
removed  to  Holmby  Castle,  where  he  remained  in  close 
though  honorable  custody,  served  and  attended  as  a  king, 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  283 

and  suffered  to  indulge  in  all  his  favorite  recreations, 
though  strictly  watched,  and  vigilantly  hindered  from  any 
secret  correspondence  with  his  friends,  and  even  inter 
dicted  from  communion  with  ministers  of  the  Episcopa 
lian  church. 

At  this  very  time  there  was  in  progress  a  desperate 
struggle  between  the  Presbyterians  and  the  army.  The 
former,  having  already  utterly  suppressed  Episcopacy 
through  the  realm,  proceeded  with  the  sternest  and  most 
bigoted  intolerance  of  persecution  against  all  sects,  Papist 
or  Protestant,  except  their  own,  clearly  demonstrating 
their  resolution  to  subject  the  whole  kingdom  to  a  sys 
tem  of  church  governance,  connected  with  the  state,  un 
der  the  Presbyterian  form,  as  fully  organized  as  that 
which  they  had  just  put  down,  and  ten  times  more  ob 
noxious  to  domestic  freedom;  ten  times  more  rigid, 
fierce,  inquisitorial,  and  tyrannical.  Against  these  meas 
ures  the  Independents,  who,  although  a  minority  in  both 
houses,  were  formidable  from  the  talents  of  the  leaders, 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  mass,  the  real  justice  of  their 
cause,  and,  above  all,  from  the  fact  that  they  possessed 
the  power  of  the  sword,  the  army  being  almost  unani 
mously  in  their  favor,  offered  all  constitutional  opposition, 
but  to  no  purpose.  Petition  after  petition  was  presented, 
only  to  be  contemned  and  disregarded. 

Just  at  this  moment  it  was  rumored,  and,  as  was 
shortly  proved,  truly,  that  the  parliament  was  now  pre 
paring  to  disband  the  army  without  payment  of  its  long 
arrears,  and  then  to  reenlist  it,  under  Presbyterian  offi 
cers  for  the  conquest  of  rebellious  Ireland ;  a  plot  most 
cunningly  devised,  could  it  have  been  effected,  for  wrest 
ing  their  ascendency  from  Ireton  and  Cromwell,  and  ren 
dering  themselves  unquestioned  masters  of  the  state. 
This  instantly  gave  rise  to  mutinies  the  most  alarming  ; 
the  army  organized  itself  into  political  divisions — the  pri 
vates,  under  their  adjutators,  elected  two  from  every 
regiment,  acting  as  a  general  assembly,  and  the  officers 
forming  a  superior  council  —  and  treated  with  the  parlia 
ment,  as  a  species  of  fourth  estate,  holding  itself  under 
arms,  and  ready  for  offensive  action. 

At  the  first  of  this  crisis  Cromwell  opposed  the  muti- 


284  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

neers  with  such  apparent  energy  and  zeal,  that,  for  a 
time,  he  lost  his  popularity  with  his  own  soldiery ;  and, 
shortly  afterward,  having  been  accused,  or,  at  the  least, 
suspected,  in  the  house,  of  underhanded  tampering  with 
the  mutineers,  he  cleared  himself  to  the  full  satisfaction 
of  all  present  by  a  most  vehement  and  overpowering 
burst  of  indignation,  mingled  with  tears,  and  prayers, 
and  explanations,  such  as  removed  from  every  mind  all 
doubts  of  his  integrity.  Shortly,  however,  fresh  suspi 
cions  were  excited  among  the  Presbyterian  leaders,  who, 
dark  and  wily  in  their  own  secret  machinations,  naturally 
feared  the  like  manoeuvres  from  their  political  opponents. 
By  some  means  it  leaked  out  that  a  new  Presbyterian 
army  was  to  be  raised  forthwith ;  that  the  veteran  host 
would  be  compelled  to  disband  at  the  sword's  point ;  and 
that  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Harrison,  the  champions  of 
the  Independents,  would  be  committed  to  the  Tower. 
Thus  forced,  in  self-defense,  to  concur  in  those  very 
movements  which  they  had  first  opposed  as  mutiny  — 
unless  they  should  prefer  to  submit  tamely  to  their  own 
destruction,  and  to  the  overthrow  of  all  those  principles 
of  civil  and  religious  freedom  for  which  they  had  so  long 
and  painfully  contended  —  the  military  chieftains  acted 
with  all  that  rapid  and  decisive  energy  which  had  con 
tinually  signalized  their  conduct  in  the  field. 

The  instant  they  had  ascertained  the  truth  of  these  re 
ports,  one  Joyce,  a  man  of  well-proved  resolution,  though 
by  rank  only  cornet  in  Whalley's  regiment  of  horse,  was 
sent  to  Holmby  to  secure  the  person  of  the  king,  who 
was  conducted  with  all  the  speed  consistent  with  respect 
to  the  headquarters  of  the  army.  And  such  was  the  con 
siderate  and  honorable  bearing  of  the  soldiery  toward 
their  captive  monarch,  that,  on  Fairfax's  disavowing 
Joyce's  enterprise  and  offering  to  send  him  back  to 
Holmby,  he  at  once  replied  that  "nought  but  force 
should  urge  him  to  it." 

And,  in  good  truth,  the  difference  of  his  situation  was 
so  great  as  well  to  justify  his  preference ;  and  could  he 
even  then  have  laid  aside  dissimulation,  and  acted  with 
straightforward  singleness  of  purpose,  it  is  most  certain 
he  might  again  have  filled  the  throne  of  his  fathers. 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  285 

Both  parties  were,  indeed,  at  this  time  willing,  nay,  de 
sirous,  to  reinstate  the  sovereign ;  for  such  a  union  as 
that  measure  would  have  caused  with  the  still  powerful, 
though  beaten  faction,  of  the  cavaliers,  would  have  placed 
either  of  them  permanently  in  the  ascendant. 

The  Presbyterians  proffered  to  replace  him  on  the 
throne,  provided  he  would  yield  assent  to  the  substitu 
tion  of  a  Presbytery  for  the  established  Church  of  En 
gland,  endowed  with  all  its  ancient  privileges,  to  the  ab 
solute  suppression  of  all  other  sects ;  and  farther,  to  such 
cessions  of  prerogative  as  would  have  left  him  but  the 
shadow  of  a  sceptre. 

The  Independents  stipulated  merely  for  universal  tol 
eration — excepting  only  Papistry,  which  they  insisted  he 
should  extirpate  entirely,  root  and  branch  —  and  for  the 
full  securing  to  all  men  of  every  constitutional  and  civil 
privilege.  In  either  case  his  life  and  throne  would  have 
been  secured  to  him.  Yet  could  he  not  refrain  from 
playing  off  the  one  against  the  other  faction,  till  both  had 
learned  that  they  could  place  no  confidence  in  his  sincer 
ity  or  truth. 

While  he  continued  with  the  army,  all  was,  for  a  long 
time,  comparatively  sunshine ;  at  Cromwell's  intercession, 
his  children,  the  young  Dukes  of  York  and  Gloucester, 
and  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  were  suffered  constantly  to 
visit  him,  and  to  remain  in  his  society.  Two  chaplains  of 
his  own  persuasion,  an  indulgence  sternly  refused  him  by 
the  parliament,  were  granted  willingly  by  the  command 
ers  of  the  soldiery,  who,  while  they  asserted  their  own 
liberty  to  worship  as  they  chose  —  to  preach  and  pray 
themselves,  and  listen  to  the  exhortations,  not  of  licensed 
gospellers,  but  of  their  own  military  saints — consistent  at 
the  least  in  this — were  willing  to  concede  to  others,  un 
like  the  bitterer  Presbyterians,  the  same  rights  which 
they  stickled  for  themselves. 

Fortified  now  by  possessing,  not  the  person  only,  but 
the  confidence  and  favor  of  the  king,  the  army  moved  to 
ward  London.  From  Newmarket  they  marched  to 
Koystori,  Reading,  and  then  Windsor ;  and  at  the  latter 
place  Charles  occupied  his  royal  castle.  Thence,  after 
some  delay,  advancing,  they  encamped  on  Hounslow, 


286  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

their  leaders  holding  constant  although  guarded  inter 
course  with  their  now  trembling  and  half-discomfited  op 
ponents.  Early  in  August  the  king  was  reinstalled  in 
Hampton  Court,  and  all  things  seemed  to  be  once  more 
his  own.  His  yeomen  of  the  Avardrobe  and  the  guard  at 
tended  him ;  he  was  permitted  to  hold  levees  of  all  par 
ties  ;  all  his  own  favorite  advisers  were  permitted  to  re 
sort  to  him,  including  several  under  the  ban  of  parlia 
ment.  There  was,  as  it  were,  a  general  amnesty  and  re 
conciliation.  Members  of  both  the  houses  visited  him  ; 
Cromwell  and  Ireton  held  close  and  constant  intercourse 
with  him ;  and  so  sincere  were  these  in  their  intention  to 
befriend  him,  that  they  actually  commenced  a  correspon 
dence  with  the  queen's  emissaries,  and  suffered  Berkeley, 
Legge,  and  Ashburnham  once  more  to  take  their  places 
in  his  council. 

The  adjutators  of  the  regiments  elected  by  the  privates, 
and  members  from  the  council  of  the  officers,  attended 
him  Avith  terms  so  advantageous,  that  Sir  John  Berkeley 
openly  declared,  that  "a  crown  so  near  lost  was  never 
yet  so  easily  recovered  as  this  would  be,  Avere  things  ad 
justed  on  these  terms."  Yet  even  then,  hoping  for 
something  more,  he  haughtily  and  scornfully  rejected 
their  terms,  and,  plunging  headlong  into  a  fresh  scheme 
with  Lauderdale,  assented  to  the  covenant,  on  the  con 
dition  that  he  should  be  brought  at  once  to  Westmin 
ster,  Avhich  he  had  the  folly  to  believe  would  place  him 
where  he  was  in  power  before  the  outbreak  of  hostilities. 

The  citizens  of  London  and  the  militia  of  that  city 
greedily  entered  on  the  scheme,  and  signed  the  covenant 
by  thousands !  Both  houses  instantly  voted  this  an  act 
of  treason  against  England ;  but  on  that  very  night  their 
doors  Avere  forced  by  a  tumultuous  and  infuriate  mob  of 
Presbyterians,  mingled  with  concealed  royalists  —  their 
persons  were  assailed  Avith  violence  and  insult — their  very 
lives  endangered !  Compelled  by  imminent  and  sudden 
peril,  they  passed  a  hasty  vote  sanctioning  the  return  of 
Charles,  but  the  next  instant  voted  an  adjournment,  as 
unable  to  deliberate  with  liberty  of  conscience;  and 
straightway  a  large  party  of  both  houses,  with  the  speak 
ers,  Manchester  and  Lenthall,  at  their  head,  withdrew 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  287 

from  the  disordered  capital,  and  finally  repaired  to  seek 
protection  in  the  camp  at  Hounslow. 

In  the  meantime,  the  violent  presumption  of  the  king, 
unduly  elevated  by  his  supposed  success,  and  instigated 
farther  by  the  intriguing  Ashburnham,  induced  him  actu 
ally  to  treat  with  contumely  the  adjutators  of  the  army, 
openly  refusing  to  concede  the  smallest  jot  of  his  prerog 
ative,  and  even  intimating  his  intention  again  to  force 
Episcopacy  on  the  Scots.  Inflamed  to  madness  by  this 
strange  tergiversation,  the  soldiers  flew  to  arms ;  and  a 
strong  party  forced  their  way  into  the  chambers  of  Lord 
Lauderdale,  then  in  the  palace,  and  compelled  him  to  re 
turn,  having  held  no  communication  with  the  king,  di 
rect  to  London.  A  few  days  after  this,  with  the  most 
perfect  shamelessness,  the  king  in  public  solemnly  disa 
vowed  his  dealings  with  the  Covenanters,  and  once  more 
professed  entire  confidence  in  the  commanders  of  the 
army,  and  feigned  a  vehement  desire  to  come  to  settled 
terms  with  them. 

In  London  the  remnant  of  the  houses  commenced  a 
weak  and  futile  effort  at  resistance ;  they  called  out  the 
militia  of  the  city,  appointing  Waller  and  Massey  to  com 
mand  their  raw,  tumultuary  levies,  repaired  the  fortifica 
tions,  and,  in  short,  had  everything  in  readiness  for  action 
except  energy  and  courage.  After  a  rendezvous  on 
Hounslow  Heath,  the  parliamentary  seceders  were  wel 
comed  by  the  excited  soldiery  with  the  loudest  acclama 
tions  and  the  sincerest  tokens  of  affection.  A  convention 
held  at  Sion  House,  whereat  Fairfax  and  his  superior  offi 
cers  assumed  their  seats  in  common  with  the  members  of 
both  houses,  decided  the  whole  question ;  and  on  the 
sixth  of  August  the  army  entered  London,  without  expe 
riencing  a  shadow  of  resistance,  their  colors  flying  and 
their  drums  beating  through  the  streets.  That  same  day 
the  seceders  were  reinstated  in  their  seats  by  the  strong 
hand  of  military  power.  The  General  Fairfax  was  ap 
pointed  Constable  of  the  Tower,  and  a  thanksgiving  voted 
with  no  dissentient  voice  either  of  peers  or  commons. 
Thus  was  the  triumph  of  the  Independents  finally  deter 
mined,  and  themselves  raised  to  power,  not  soon  again  to 
fall. 


288  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

It  was  the  second  day  after  the  entrance  of  the  army 
that  Sir  Edgar  Arden,  who,  though  he  had  become  grad 
ually  more  and  more  doubtful  of  the  purity  of  Cromwell's 
motives,  had  played  his  part  as  gallantly  as  heretofore 
throughout  the  long  campaigns  of  1646  and  1647,  and 
even  shared  in  the  deliberations  and  proceedings  of  the 
army  as  opposed  to  the  yet  darker  machinations  of  the 
parliament,  walked  forth  to  seek  for  some  solution  of  his 
apprehensions  in  the  deep  wisdom  of  his  friend  John  Mil 
ton.  His  mind  had,  in  truth,  long  been  in  a  dubious  and 
unsettled  state  ;  the  tyranny  of  Charles,  against  which  he 
had  taken  arms  in  the  beginning,  was  something  palpable 
and  obvious,  as  was  his  leaning  toward  Romish  doctrines, 
and  his  inclination  to  fritter  down  as  much  as  possible  the 
broad  distinction  between  the  Catholic  and  Episcopalian 
churches.  It  was,  however,  rather  against  the  king's  ag 
gression  upon  civil  freedom  than  against  the  abuses  of 
the  church  that  he  had  warred,  although  he  saw  the  lat 
ter  in  so  clear  a  light  that  he  felt  no  repugnance  to  make 
common  cause  with  those  who  viewed  them  as  the  greater 
evil. 

Now,  when  the  first  oppressor  was  reduced,  the  first 
assailants  of  religious  freedom  beaten  and  trampled  under 
foot,  it  seemed  too  probable  that  a  new  hydra-headed 
tyranny  would  spring  up  from  the  downfallen  despotism, 
and  greater  outrages  on  liberty  of  conscience  follow  than 
those  which  had  called  England  into  arms.  Such  was  in 
deed  the  certain  course  of  things,  if,  in  the  present  strug 
gle,  the  parliament  should  regain  the  ascendency,  which 
body,  it  was  evident,  under  the  strong  plea  of  necessity, 
had  already  most  alarmingly  extended  their  boasted 
privileges,  leaving  all  the  assumptions  of  prerogative  im 
measurably  in  the  rear,  and  which,  now  that  the  conflict 
was  decided,  showed  little  disposition  to  lay  down  their 
dear-bought  power.  Himself  a  follower  of  the  Church  of 
England,  Sir  Edgar  had  seen  little  to  find  fault  with  in 
the  old  establishment,  except  an  over-rigor  and  a  want 
of  toleration,  which  he  would  have  extended  to  all  sects, 
except  the  Catholics,  who  were,  in  those  days,  truly  for 
midable,  from  their  determined  spirit  of  propagandism, 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  289 

their  bigotry,  and,  above  all,  their  unassembled  inclina 
tion  toward  arbitrary  government. 

He  therefore  looked  upon  the  stern  and  overstrained 
morality  of  the  Presbytery  with  feelings  of  so  deep  dis 
like,  that  he  would  almost  have  surrendered  all  the  gains 
of  the  late  war  to  hinder  its  establishment  as  a  predomi 
nating  state-religion,  although  he  would  have  gladly  suf 
fered  it  in  common  with  all  other  Protestant  denomina 
tions.  With  these  views  he  had  naturally  joined  the  In 
dependents  in  their  contest  with  the  parliament ;  but  now 
that  they  had  gained  the  day,  he  was  yet  ill  at  ease.  A 
fierce  fanatical  government  of  arms  would  be,  it  was  self- 
evident,  the  very  worst  of  governments,  and  utterly  sub 
versive  of  the  English  liberties  and  constitution.  The 
wavering  and  dishonest  policy  of  Charles  rendered  his 
restoration  all  but  impossible ;  while,  in  the  deep-laid  and 
unfathomable  mysteries  of  Cromwell's  course,  Arden  be 
gan  to  perceive  daily  more  and  more  cause  for  apprehen 
sion  and  caution.  Still,  such  were  the  rare  talents  of  the 
man,  such  his  inexplicable  influence  over  the  minds  of  all 
whom  he  encountered,  that,  while  Sir  Edgar  doubted,  he 
was  compelled  to  grant  that  he  had  no  cause  for  doubt 
which  he  could  make  clear  to  himself,  much  less  to  oth 
ers.  At  times  he  fancied  his  religious  ecstasies  mere  hyp- 
ocritic  jargon,  adopted  in  order  to  mystify  all  eyes  and 
veil  his  deep  ambition ;  at  others  he  believed  him  a  wild, 
self-deceiving  hypochondriac,  an  erring,  though  sincere 
enthusiast.  Hitherto  all  that  Oliver  had  done  had  doubt 
less  been  of  service  to  the  cause  of  veritable  freedom  ; 
and  it  was  certain  that  his  present  opposition  to  the  Pres 
byterians  might  prove  quite  as  unselfish,  quite  as  benefi 
cial  to  the  commonwealth  as  his  preceding  opposition  to 
the  king. 

Still  it  was  too  apparent  to  escape  the  foresight  of  a 
politician  so  clear-headed  and  far-reaching  as  Sir  Edgar, 
that,  if  the  military  faction  should  gain  firm  foothold  in 
the  state,  Cromwell  would  not  lack  either  talent,  oppor 
tunity,  or  power  to  mount  even  to  the  topmost  summit 
of  ambition,  if  he  should  feel  the  inclination  to  attempt 
it.  And  who,  when  all  things  most  magnificently 
tempting  lie  prone,  subject  to  his  mere  will,  yea,  courting 
M  19 


290  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

him  to  grasp  them,  when  to  dare  almost  seems  a  virtue, 
to  refrain  a  weakness,  who  can,  in  such  a  situation,  an 
swer  for  another — who  even  for  himself? 

Revolving  such  thoughts  in  his  mind,  and  eager  to  un 
bosom  himself  to  some  true  friend,  Sir  Edgar  took  his 
way,  as  has  been  said,  on  the  second  evening  after  the 
occupation  of  the  city  by  the  troops,  toward  the  dwelling 
of  John  Milton.  The  controversialist  had  changed  his 
domicile  during  this  troubled  period,  and  now  occupied  a 
smaller  house  in  Hoiborn,  opening  backward  upon  Lin 
coln's  Inn. 

It  was  a  lovely  evening  as  ever  smiled  upon  the  earth 
which  Arden  had  selected  for  his  visit  to  the  patriotic 
poet.  The  setting  sun,  that  alchemist  of  nature,  shone 
out  so  brilliantly  from  an  unclouded  sky,  that  even  the 
great  wilderness  of  walls  and  chimneys,  for  once  seen 
through  a  purer  medium  than  their  accustomed  canopy 
of  fog  and  smoke,  looked  cheerfully.  The  same  grave- 
eyed  and  sober-looking  servitor  who  had  admitted  him  at 
his  last  visit  six  long  years  before,  opened  the  door ;  and, 
in  reply  to  his  inquiry,  informed  him  that  Master  Milton 
was  within,  but  in  his  garden ;  and,  ushering  him  into  a 
small  parlor,  decked  with  the  self-same  dark  green  hang-' 
ings,  offered  to  call  his  master.  But,  declining  his  civil 
ity,  Sir  Edgar  walked  himself  into  the  narrow  stripe  of 
garden,  planted  with  a  few  lilachs  and  laburnams,  all  be 
smirched  and  dingy  from  the  effects  of  the  London  at 
mosphere.  At  first  he  saw  not  anything  of  him  he  sought ; 
but,  in  a  moment  after,  he  distinguished  the  full,  solemn 
voice,  whose  cadences,  once  heard,  could  never  be  forgot 
ten,  proceeding  from- a  little  arbor  facing  the  western  sun, 
and  covered  by  a  mass  of  annual  creepers  such  as  may 
easily  be  reared  even  upon  the  meanest  plat  of  soil.  The 
sounds,  however,  were  not  as  of  one  engaged  in  conver 
sation,  but  resembled  rather  the  accents  of  a  person 
thinking  aloud,  or  possibly  composing  what  might  be  af 
terward  committed  to  the  safer  guardianship  of  paper. 
The  words  which  reached  his  ear  as  he  advanced  were 
these,  at  no  long  period  subsequently  published  in  the 
poem  styled  II  Penseroso : 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  291 


"The  high-embowed  roof 
With  antique  columns  massy  proof, 
And  storied  windows  richly  dight 
Casting  a  dim  religious  light : 
There  let  the  pealing  organ  blow, 
To  the  full-voiced  quire  below, 
In  service  high  and  anthems  clear 
As  may  witlf  sweetness  through  mine  ear 
Dissolve  me  into  ecstasies, 
And  bring  all  heaven  before  mine  eyes." 


That  which  was  most  peculiar  in  the  manner  of  the 
speaker,  if,  as  Arden  suspected,  he  were  pronouncing 
thoughts  which  for  the  first  time  now  were  couched  in 
language,  Avas,  that  they  flowed  in  one  melodious  and  un 
interrupted  stream,  unbroken  by  the  slightest  pause  or 
hesitation,  and  running,  as  it  were,  into  spontaneous  mel 
ody  ;  as  unpremeditated  as  the  music  of  a  bird,  the  mur 
muring  of  a  rivulet,  or  any  other  natural  sound  that 
soothes  the  ear  of  man  with  untaught  harmony. 

lie  had  not,  however,  much  time  to  drink  in  the  sweet 
and  solemn  verses,  for  the  quick  ear  of  the  poet — quicker, 
perhaps,  as  his  sense  of  vision  year  after  year  became  less 
vigorous — detected  an  approaching  footstep  on  the  gravel 
walk;  and,  ceasing  instantly  from  his  employment,  he 
stepped  forth  to  meet  his  visitor.  The  countenance  of 
Milton  was  but  little  altered,  embalmed  as  it  were  by  his 
passionless  and  peaceful  avocations,  excepting  that  per 
haps  the  furrows  on  his  expansive  forehead,  furrows  of 
thought,  not  age,  were  somewThat  deeper,  and  the  whole 
expression  of  his  lineaments  more  subdued  and  even  mel 
ancholy  than  when  they  last  met  his  friend's  eye.  The 
change,  if  change  there  were,  was  slight  indeed  as  com 
pared  writh  the  havoc  which  anxiety,  grief,  hardship,  and 
exposure,  more  than  time,  had  wrought  on  the  fine  fea 
tures  of  Sir  Edgar  Arden. 

His  glance  was,  indeed,  bright  as  ever ;  his  carriage  as 
erect  and  dignified;  his  lirnbs  as  muscular,  nay,  even  as  elas 
tic.  But  the  high  manly  beauty,  the  triumphant  energy, 
the  soul  out-flashing  from  the  face  at  every  new  emotion, 
the  flush  of  youth,  the  glorious  radiancy  of  a  fresh  mind, 
were  utterly  extinct  forever.  The  features  were,  indeed, 
the  same  in  their  proud  classic  mould,  save  that  the  nose 
was  sharpened,  and  that  the  mouth  so  firmly  set,  rarely 


202  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

or  never  now  relaxed  into  that  playful  smile  which  used 
to  light  up  the  whole  countenance  like  sudden  sunshine. 
Deep  lines  were  visible,  not  on  the  forehead  only,  but 
hard  and  sharply  cut  from  either  nostril  downward.  His 
hair,  still  soft  and  waving,  was  streaked  in  many  places 
with  premature  and  wintry  gray ;  and,  more  than  all,  a 
dull  dead  shadow  had  settled  down  upon  him  with  a 
gloom  like  that  which  an  autumnal  cloud  will  cast  upon  a 
landscape  that,  scarce  a  minute  past,  was  laughing  in  its 
sunniest  loveliness.  At  iirst  sight  Milton  scarcely  recog 
nized  his  friend  and  pupil ;  and,  when  at  length  he  did  so, 
he  framed  a  half  apology,  attributing  the  blame  to  his 
own  "  great  infirmity,  becoming,"  as  he  said,  "  as  each 
morn  rose  on  its  preceding  night,  but  more  and  more  de 
cided." 

"I  thank  you,"  answered  Arden,  grasping  the  soft 
hand  of  the  scholar  with  warm  affection,  "  I  thank  you 
for  your  kindly  artifice ;  but  I  well  know  that  hard  sea 
sons,  and  yet  harder  fortunes,  have  so  far  changed  me, 
that,  were  my  mother  living,  she  scarce  could  recognize 
her  son  in  the  gray,  weather-beaten  soldier  that  alone  re 
mains  of  him.  But,  after  all,  what  matters  it?  what 
matters  it  that  our  frail  bodies  should  wear  out  and 
wither,  when  even  thus  they  outlive  empires.  But  let  us 
in— if  I  may  so  far  trespass  on  your  leisure  —  my  mind  is 
ill  at  ease,  and  I  would  fain  cast  off  some  of  its  secret  bur 
dens  into  ears  which  I  know  friendly,  wise,  and  trust 
worthy." 

Milton  assented  with  a  kindly  but  grave  gesture ;  sym 
pathizing  more  deeply  than  could  have  been  expected, 
from  his  unworldly  habits  and  philosophic  style  of  thought, 
in  the  appalling  change  which  he  was  aware  could  have 
been  only  wrought  by  singular  affliction  on  the  aspect  of 
a  man  whom  he  knew,  by  experience,  to  be  calmer  and 
more  disciplined  of  mind  than  the  most  chastened  of  his 
austere  contemporaries.  They  walked  in  silence  to  the 
house,  for  the  hearts  of  both  were  too  full  to  vent  them 
selves  in  any  converse  of  small  moment ;  but,  when 
once  seated  in  the  quiet  parlor,  Arden  at  once  broke 
silence. 

"  I  have,"  he  said,  "  inethinks,  more  than  a  common 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  293 

claim  on  you  for  that  advice  and  information  which  I  be 
lieve  no  one  can  so  well  afford  me ;  seeing  that  it  was 
owing  mainly  to  your  exhortations  that  I  determined  on 
embarking  actively  upon  that  stream  of  circumstances 
which  has  all  blindly  swept  me  onward  to  this  pass.  Obe 
dient,  or,  I  should  rather  say,  convinced  by  those  your 
exhortations,  I  have  been,  as  you  know,  a  faithful  and  un 
flinching,  if  unimportant,  actor  in  the  events  which  have 
dethroned  the  king,  abolished  the  established  church, 
and,  to  conclude,  laid  the  whole  realm,  laws,  liberties, 
and  lives  of  Englishmen,  at  the  precarious  mercy  of  an 
armed  and  zealot  multitude.  In  thus  pursuing  the  dic 
tates  of  your  advice  not  less  than  of  my  conscience,  I  de 
voted  myself  wholly  to  what  I  then  believed  my  coun 
try's  good.  I  have  lost,  sacrificed  everything.  I  am 
alone  among  the  ruins  of  my  house,  a  sole  and  thunder- 
stricken  column  left  standing  when  its  temple  hath  for 
ever  fallen.  My  father  died  at  Naseby ;  my  only  conso 
lation  this,  that  he  forgot  our  differences,  and  blessed  me 
ere  he  passed  away.  My  betrothed  bride  —  you  saw  her 
once  in  our  young  days  of  hope  and  promise,  and  know 
her  priceless  worth  —  is  perishing  by  inches  of  a  pined 
and  broken  heart.  But  this — ay!  all  this  I  could  bear,  were 
it  not  that  dark  fears  have  grown  into  my  soul  till  I  doubt 
everything  —  almost  my  own  integrity  and  honor.  A 
busy  voice  is  whispering  at  my  heart  that  I  have  for 
feited  all  that  makes  life  a  blessing  —  nay,  more,  that  I 
have  aided  in  destroying  all  those  most  dear  to  me,  and 
in  the  chase  of  a  vain  phantom.  And  more,  yet  more 
than  this ;  that  in  the  very  chase  I  have  but  been  the 
sport  and  mockery  of  a  falsehood.  I  feel,  I  see  that  En 
gland  has  been  deluged  with  the  blood  of  her  free  sons  ; 
that  her  valleys  have  been  fattened  with  the  corpses  of 
her  best  and  bravest ;  that  her  wise  and  pious  prelates 
have  been  driven  from  out  their  spheres  of  usefulness ; 
that  her  monarch,  justly,  I  grant,  but  fatally,  is  held  cap 
tive  in  the  very  palaces  of  his  forefathers  ;  that  her  con 
stitution  is  plunged  into  the  wildest  jeopardy.  All  this  I 
feel  —  I  see.  The  havoc  and  the  misery,  the  desolation 
and  the  peril !  But  when  I  look  forward,  all  is  blank  and/ 
hopeless.  The  worst  view,  anarchy  in  the  state,  and  per 


294  OLIVER  CROilAVELL. 

secution  in  the  church !  For  government,  an  army  of 
sectarians  and  schismatics,  fanatical,  and  ignorant,  and 
savage !  For  council,  a  small  knot  of  officers  ;  wild,  vis 
ionary  madmen,  like  Harrison  and  Lilburne ;  enthusiasts, 
like  Ireton;  or  hypocrites  and  mercenary  knaves,  like 
hundreds  I  could  name,  but  need  not !  and  for  church,  an 
austere,  intolerant,  morose,  heart-chilling  discipline,  par 
alyzing  every  noble  aspiration,  condemning  every  inno 
cent  and  lawful  pleasure,  hardening,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
lowering  every  heart,  confounding  every  real  standard, 
narrowing  all  distinctions  between  vice  and  virtue,  con 
verting  men  into  mere  hypocrites,  or,  worse,  into  mere 
misanthropes  and  brutes !  This  is  the  darker  side  of  the- 
picture ;  turn  it !  and  the  best  view  —  truly,  the  more  I 
look  upon  it,  the  more  sure  do  I  feel  that  it  will  come  to 
pass — the  best  view  is  the  resurrection  of  a  stronger  dy 
nasty,  stronger  because  supported  by  a  standing  army, 
founded  upon  a  conquest,  erected  on  the  ruins  of  all  that 
did  oppose  its  predecessor,  and  cannot  oppose  it  —  a  dy 
nasty,  with  for  its  founder  and  its  head,  mightier  and 
more  dangerous  a  thousand  fold  than  Charles,  because 
more  wise,  more  valiant,  and  more  virtuous  —  start  not, 
my  friend,  at  what  I  am  about  to  say  —  with  for  its  first 
sovereign — CROMWELL." 

"I  have  heard  you  without  interruption,"  answered 
Milton,  in  his  rich,  persuasive  tones,  "  but  with  sorrow, 
with  attention,  and  with  wonder.  Sorrow — that  you 
have  lain  beneath  the  burden  of  affliction,  such  as  no  faint 
ing  pilgrim  of  us  all  could  bear  and  live,  did  we  not  know 
that  such  is  but  the  test  which  the  Supreme  Artificer  ap 
plies  to  try  the  temper  and  the  metal  of  our  souls ;  the 
purgative,  like  fire  under  the  rude  ores  of  the  mine,  by 
which  he  fits  our  corrupt  bodies  to  put  on  incorruption. 
Attention — for  that,  although  I  trust  to  show  them  base 
less  as  the  morning  vapors  which  disappear  before  the  ail- 
pervading  daylight,  your  prognostics  are  fraught  deeply 
with  the  world's  wisdom,  and  your  views  of  the  presbyt 
ery  entirely  sound  and  solid.  Wonder — that  you  should 
doubt,  or  anywise  distrust,  the  purest  and  siricerest  patriot, 
the  most  upright  judge,  the  stoutest  man-of-war,  the 
trustiest  and  most  pains-taking  Christian  that  the  Lord 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  295 

hath  raised  up,  since  the  old  days  of  Israel's  glory,  to  vin 
dicate  the  liberties  and  wipe  away  the  sorrows  of  an  op 
pressed  and  groaning  people." 

"  I  rejoice  much,"  Edgar  replied,  "to  hear  that  such  is 
your  opinion.  I  cannot  say,  indeed,  that  I  so  much  dis 
trust  him  as  I  do  the  tide  of  circumstances  which  seem  to 
flow  on  irresistibly  toward  his  elevation.  Charles  never 
can  again  sit  on  the  throne ;  no  party  can  place  confidence 
in  him ;  myself  I  would  not  see  him  there,  for  whensoever 
he  should  fancy  he  had  gained  the  power,  so  surely  as  we 
two  are  here  conversing  now,  would  he  renew  these  strug 
gles.  He  is  in  heart,  by  habit,  by  his  very  blood,  a  des 
pot.  But  let  me  profit  by  your  wisdom — to  what  end 
do  you  look,  whether  for  sorrow  or  rejoicing?" 

"  The  lieutenant-general,"  answered  Milton,  "  has  gone 
hence  but  now  ;  scarcely  an  hour  before  you  came.  In 
deed,  he  passed  a  great  part  of  the  morning  with  me  in 
grave  disputation ;  for  we  did  not,  nor  do  we  yet,  agree. 
He  would  replace  Charles  Stuart  in  the  high  places  of  his 
fathers,  dreading  the  tyranny  of  the  parliament  more  than 
he  dreads  the  despotism  of  the  king — the  persecutions  of 
the  Presbyterians  beyond  the  persecutions  of  the  Pre- 
latists." 

"  Indeed ! "  Sir  Edgar  answered,  in  great  astonishment ; 
"  indeed !  Then  have  I  much  misjudged  him.  Restore 
Charles  Stuart !  I  should  have  thought  he  would  have 
stricken  off  his  right  hand  sooner ! " 

"  He  would  do  so,  however,"  Milton  replied ;  "  beyond 
all  doubt  he  would.  He  deems  he  has  devised  a  scheme 
to  fetter  him  within  the  bounds  of  lawful  power.  Be 
sides,  he  trusts  his  gratitude — mistaken  trust,  I  fear  me, 
on  most  unstable  grounds.  He  parted  hence  almost  in 
anger,  for  that  I  thwarted  him  and  held  his  project 
naught." 

"  And  the  terms  ?  "  asked  Sir  Edgar ;  "  what  be  the 
terms  on  which  he  would  restore  him?" 

"  Certain  improvements  in  the  freedom  of  elections," 
returned  the  other,  "  and  in  the  rights  of  parliament.  The 
military  power  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  the  creation  of 
all  great  officers  of  state,  to  be  for  ten  years  vested  solely 
in  that  body.  ISTo  person  who  has  warred  against  the 


296  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

parliament  to  sit  for  five  years,  whether  as  peer  or  com 
moner,  or  to  hold  any  office.  No  peers  created  since  the 
removal  of  the  privy  seal  in  1642  to  sit  without  permission 
of  both  houses.  All  grants  made  by  the  king  since  that 
same  date  to  be  held  void  ;  all  by  the  lords  and  commons 
valid.  The  liturgy  not  to  be  enjoined,  nor  yet  the  cove 
nant  enforced,  but  all  coercive  power  to  be  taken  from 
the  bishops  and  the  clergy.  The  king,  queen,  and  the 
royal  issue,  except  in  these  points,  to  resume  all  their  old 
powers  and  prerogatives  without  restriction ;  and,  lastly,  an 
indemnity,  to  all  but  iive  delinquents,  to  be  granted  in 
behalf  of  those  who  have  served  for  the  king,  whether  in 
camp  or  council." 

"  And  does  the  king  consent  ?  "  Arden  inquired  once 
more. 

"  Surely  he  does,"  the  poet  answered  ;  "  he  were  mad 
to  refuse  conditions  which,  fallen  as  he  is,  he  could  have 
scarce  even  hoped  for." 

"  It  would  work  well,"  said  Edgar,  musing  very  doe  ply. 
"It  would  work  excellently  well  if  the  king  might  ba 
trusted.  But  —  I  fear  still.  At  all  events,  the  zeal  of 
Cromwell  to  promote  this  settlement  argues  that  I  have 
been  unjust  in  my  suspicions.  Yes,  I  have  greatly  wronged 
him.  But  you  said  that  you  differed  from  his  views,,  and 
that  he  went  hence  ireful  and  chafing.  I  pray  you  tell 
me — what,  then,  are  your  opinions?" 

"  Mine  ?  "  replied  Milton  ;  "  my  opinions  are  but  the 
musings  of  a  solitary  bookman,  unskilled  in  court  or  coun 
cil — neither  a  statesman  nor  a  jxolitieian  ;  yet,  such  as  they 
be,  you  shall  have  them.  I  would  see  England  free !  free 
and  unshackled,  as  was  Rome  in  her  fresh  days  of  glory, 
ere  she  had  bowed  the  knee  to  any  Kaisar  ;  as  Greece, 
when  she  spurned  forth  the  countless  myriads  of  the  ori 
ental  king  from  her  unviolated  shores,  and  reared  herself 
a  bright  example,  pure  and  immortal,  of  liberty  un- 
quenched,  unquenchable  1  I  would  see  England  subject 
to  law,  to  reason,  and  to  God— bending  tie  neck  to  none 
— '  rousing  herself,  like  a  strong  man  after  sleep,  and  shak 
ing  her  invincible  locks ! '  I  would  c  see  her  as  an  eagle, 
muing  her  mighty  youth,  and  kindling  her  undazzled  eyes 
at  the  full  mid-day  beam ! '  yea,  spreading  forth  to  the 


A  POET'S  DREAM  FOR  ENGLAND.  297 

four  winds  of  heaven  her  long-abused  and  fettered  pinions, 
superbly  floating  in  her  pride  of  place,  unscathed  amid 
the  lightnings  of  the  empyrean  !  And  wherefore,  I  would 
ask  you,  not  ?  Consider  .what  we  are  and  have  been — 
'  a  nation,  not  slow  nor  dull,  but  of  a  quick,  ingenious, 
and  piercing  spirit,  acute  to  invent,  subtile  and  sinewy 
to  discourse,  not  beneath  the  reach  of  any  point  the  high 
est  that  human  capacity  can  soar  to ! '  A  nation  not 
luxurious  nor  effeminate,  but  of  a  hardihood  surpassing 
that,  I  say  not  of  the  frivolous,  light  Frenchman,  not  of 
the  polished  and  effete  Italian,  not  of  the  indolent  Castilian, 
but  of  the  frugal  Transylvanian,  the  winter-tempered 
Russ,  the  mountain  Switzer !  A  nation  boasting  itself 
the  freeborn  offspring  of  the  free !  a  nation  that  rolled 
back  the  flood  of  Roman  war  from  its  interior  fastnesses, 
when  Rome  was  at  the  mightest !  a  nation  that  shall  yet 
— once  freed  from  the  soul-galling  .yoke  of  monarchy — 
the  spirit-killing  sway  of  Prelatists,  and  peers,  and  Papists 
— send  forth  its  arms,  its  laws,  its  language,  and,  above 
all,  the  lights  of  its  religion,  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
habitable  earth,  securely  throned  on  her  sea-circled  pinna 
cle  of  glory,  o'ershadowing  the  lands  with  its  dominion, 
sweeping  the  ocean-waves  with  its  renown !  " 

"  Dreams — dreams !  "  replied  Arden,  shaking  his  head 
mournfully ;  "  beautiful — beautiful  dreams,  but  baseless ! 
Methought  that  you  had  studied  history  more  narrowly. 
There  never  has  been,  from  the  world's  birth  till  now — 
there  never  shall  be,  henceforth  to  the  day  when  the 

freat  trump  shall  sound — a  true  republic !  Rome,  when 
er  kings  were  banished,  was  an  aristocracy — a  wise,  poor, 
frugal,  brave,  paternal  aristocracy ;  foot  after  foot  her 
nobles  yielded  to  the  flood  of  what  her  demagogues  styled 
freedom ;  the  moment  when  she  became  republican  or 
democratic,  which  you  will,  that  moment  held  her  up  a 
prize  to  the  successful  soldier.  Her  history  was  thence 
forth — corruption,  anarchy,  bloodshed,  proscription,  Cse- 
sar  !  And  what  was  Athens  ?  If  for  a  little  while  she 
stood  cemented  by  external  wars,  which  forced  her  to  be 
single  and  united,  what  was  her  government  but  a  succes 
sion  of  bright  usurpations — of  aggressions  on  the  people's 
rights — abuses  of  the  people's  power,  till,  at  the  last,  de- 
M* 


298  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

mocracy  prevailed ;  and  then — the  thirty  tyrants !  Spar 
ta,  from  first  to  last,  was  the  most  close  and  austere  oli 
garchy  the  earth  has  ever  witnessed — ay,  oligarchy  within 
oligarchy — an  irresponsible  and  highborn  senate,  holding 
its  sway  for  life  over  an  oligarchy  of  six  thousand  warrior 
Dorians ;  who  in  turn  domineered  with  a  most  iron  sceptre 
over  their  myriads  of  subordinate  Laconians,  myriads  of 
scourged  and  tortured  Helots !  These  !  these  are  your 
bright  examples — these  the  republics  of  the  universe !  For 
you  will  hardly  quote  me  Venice — Genoa — Florence — 
wherein  not  all  a  Petrarch's  or  an  Ariosto's  glory  could 
veil  the  degradation  of  the  slavish  mob — the  tyrant  inso 
lence  of  the  brute  nobles.  Dreams,  I  say  once  again — 
beautiful,  but  still  dreams !  Alas,  for  human  nature !  how 
can  we  look  to  see  republics  stand,  unless  we  hope  for 
wisdom  and  for  virtue  in  the  councils  and  the  actions  of 
the  mass — how  hope  tor  these  when  human  reason  and 
Divine  authority  tell  us  alike,  and  tell  us  truly,  that  the 
majority  of  men  are  ignorant  and  prone  to  evil !  But 
now,  truce  to  discussion ;  you  have  relieved  my  mind,  at 
all  events,  from  one  great  dread — of  having  been,  in  truth, 
while  I  supposed  myself,  in  some  degree,  a  champion  of 
my  country's  weal,  the  mere  tool  of  one  man's  ambition. 
This  was  the  point  on  wrhich  I  chiefly  sought  your  coun 
sel,  and  I  am  satisfied.  And  now  let  us  to  lighter  and 
more  pleasing  matters.  I  heard  your  voice,  as  I  ap 
proached  the  arbor,  composing,  as  I  fancied,  some  new 
poem." 

"  A  trifle — a  mere  trifle,"  answered  the  other,  as  if  half 
reluctant  to  descant  on  such  a  subject ;  but  Arden's  end 
wTas  gained ;  the  thread  of  their  original  discourse  was 
broken,  and,  turning  thence  to  poetry  and  the  chief  lit 
erary  topics  of  the  day,  a  conversation  followed,  which, 
though  of  interest  enough  to  those  who  held  it,  was  scarce 
of  such  importance  as  to  warrant  its  transmission  to 
posterity. 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR.  299 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE     KING     AND      HIS      SUCCESSOR. 

Nay.  be  thou  sure  I'll  well  requite  thy  kindness, 
For  that  it  made  my  imprisonment  a  pleasure 
Ay,  such  a  pleasure  as  encaged  birds 
Conceive,  when,  after  many  moody  thoughts, 
At  last,  by  notes  of  household  harmony, 
They  quite  forget  their  loss  of  liberty. 
But,  Warwick,  after  God,  thou  set'st  me  free, 
And  chiefly,  therefore,  I  thank  God  and  thee. 

KING  HBNEY  VI.— Part  8. 

IT  was  a  lovely  summer  morning,  with  a  soft  west  wind 
just  ruffling  the  bosom  of  the  silver  Thames,  and  wanton 
ing  among  the  graceful  foliage  of  the  tall  trees,  and  slen 
derer  though  not  less  beautiful  exotics,  which  still  adorn 
in  such  profusion  the  gardens  of  that  palace  built  by  the 
haughty  Wolsey,  but  destined  briefly  to  pass  into  the 
hands  of  his  bluff  master,  and  to  descend  to  his  posterity 
as  one  of  the  fairest  abodes  of  England's  royalty.  In  a 
magnificent  apartment  overlooking  those  unrivalled  gar 
dens,  its  ceiling  gorgeously  painted  in  Italian  frescoes 
with  some  of  the  most  picturesque  creations  of  the  Gre 
cian  fable,  its  walls  draped  with  brocaded  damask  bor 
dered  with  arabesques  of  gold  two  feet  in  width,  and 
decorated  with  the  master-pieces  of  Vandyck  and  Lely,  in 
all  but  power  a  king,  sat  Charles,  gazing  out  with  a  sad 
but  quiet  eye  upon  the  flowery  parterres,  adorned  with 
many  an  urn  and  statue,  the  trimly-shaven  lawns,  the  odor 
ous  thickets,  and  the  alleys  green,  with  the  broad  mon 
arch  of  his  kingdom's  rivers  flashing  out  brightly  in  the 
sunshine  between  the  fluttering  leaves. 

His  children  were  about  him.  The  Duke  of  York,  the 
eldest  of  those  present,  afterward,  the  hapless  James  the 
Second,  was  leaning  on  his  father's  knee,  and  looking 
up  into  his  face  as  if  conscious  of  the  melancholy  air, 
which  had  become  almost  habitual  to  those  unmarked  but 
comely  features,  yet  ignorant  of  the  dark  causes  which 
had  there  imprinted  it.  The  younger  Duke  of  Glouces 
ter,  and  Elizabeth,  his  little  sister,  just  at  that  happy  age 


300  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

when  tears  are  but  as  April  showers,  succeeded  instantly 
by  smiles,  when  sorrows  pass  away  and  leave  no  sting  be 
hind,  were  busily  employed  imprisoning,  beneath  a  Venice 
goblet,  a  painted  butterfly,  which,  lured  by  a  display  of 
lovely  summer  flowers  blooming  in  a  large  crystal  vase 
upon  the  table,  had  flitted  in  through  the  tall  casements 
but  to  be  made  a  prize  by  the  admiring  children.  A  louder 
laugh  than  usual,  joyously  bursting  from  the  lips  of  the 
young  girl,  diverted  the  king's  mind  for  a  moment  from 
his  sad  reflections. 

"  My  little  girl,"  he  said,  half  sorrowfully  smiling,  "  you 
would  not  persecute  the  pretty  butterfly ;  see  how  it 
beats  its  painted  wings  against  the  walls  of  its  transparent 
prison,  and  rubs  off  all  the  downy  colors  that  you  thought 
so  beautiful.  Know,  my  Elizabeth,  that  poor,  imprisoned 
fly  would  now  be  fluttering  far  away  over  the  sunny  gar 
dens,  in  the  sweet  morning  air,  sipping  the  dew  from  ev 
ery  flower,  happy  and  free ;  and  you,  by  shutting  it  up 
here,  have  made  it  very  wretched;  and  it  will  pine  and 
die.  See,  it  grows  weak  already;  would  not  my  darling 
sorrow  for  the  poor  butterfly,  if  she  should  find  it  lying 
dead  upon  its  prison  floor  to-morrow  ?  " 

The  child  stared  wonderingly,  with  her  great  blue  eyes 
wide  open,  upon  her  father ;  for  he  spoke  with  a  degree 
of  serious  and  simple  pathos,  caused,  perhaps,  by  a  sense 
of  sympathy  with  the  slight  insect,  caged  like  himself, 
though  in  a  splendid  prison  ;  but,  as  he  ceased,  a  big  tear 
swelled  upon  the  lashes  of  either  bright  orb,  and  slid  slow 
ly  down  over  her  rosy  cheeks.  "  I  did  not  want,"  she 
said,  "  to  make  the  butterfly  unhappy.  Will  it  die,  papa, 
now,  if  I  let  it  fly  away  ?  " 

"  No,  my  sweet  child,"  he  answered,  "  it  will  revive 
directly  ;  all  that  it  wants  is  the  fresh  air,  and  liberty  to 
go  where  it  pleases." 

.  "  Then  farewell,  pretty  butterfly,  she  cried,  half  weep 
ing  and  half  smiling,  as  she  released  the  captive.  "•  I 
should  not  love  to  be  a  prisoner  myself.  Go  and  be  very 
happy.  See  !  see  !  he  is  gone  already  !  " 

"  Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  grant  you  never  may,  rny  child," 
Charles  answered  solemnly;  "but,  if  it  should  please  God 
that  evil  men  should  shut  you  up,  you  must  be  very  pa- 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR.  801 

tient,  and  not  hate  those  who  hurt  you,  but  forgive  them, 
and  say  your  prayers  for  them  to  your  great  King  and 
Father  in  his  holy  heaven,  that  he  may  pardon  them,  and 
turn  their  hearts." 

"  Do  you  do  so,  papa,"  she  said — "  do  you  do  so  ?  For 
I  heard  you  say  one  day  that  you  were  a  prisoner — though 
this  pretty  room  can  hardly  be  a  prison — for  I  thought  a 
prison  was  a  dark  place  un^er  ground,  all  barred  with 
iron  grates,  and  very  terrible.  Do  you  forgive  your 
enemies  ?  " 

"  Surely  I  do,  my  little  girl,"  he  answered,  "  else  would 
not  God  forgive  me.  But,  now,  go  play — for,  see  here, 
some  one  comes  to  speak  with  me  ; "  and,  as  he  said  the 
words,  the  door  was  opened,  and  a  gentleman  usher  with 
his  black  rod  entered  the  chamber,  and  informed  the 
king  that  the  Lieutenant-general  Cromwell  was  in  the 
audience-chamber  waiting  his  pleasure. 

"  Admit  him  forthwith,  Fielding ;  we  will  receive  him 
here,"  replied  the  king  ;  "  and,  hark  you,  pray  Mistress 
Drummond  to  come  hither,  and  take  hence  the  children. 
We  would  be  alone." 

The  usher  instantly  retired ;  and  taking  up  his  high- 
crowned  hat  which  lay  upon  the  table,  without  any  feath 
er,  but  ornamented  by  a  diamond  buckle  in  the  band,  he 
placed  it  on  his  head,  and  seated  himself  before  a  writing 
cabinet  of  ebony  inlaid  with  ivory  and  silver.  Scarce  had 
he  settled  himself,  with  perhaps  some  slight  view  to  effect, 
when  the  Independent  entered.  He  was  uncovered,  bear 
ing  his  beaver  in  his  hand,  and  bowed  low  to  the  fallen 
sovereign,  though  he  bent  not  the  knee,  nor  offered  any 
movement  to  kiss  hands.  It  was  a  singular  and  interest 
ing  meeting  between  two  men,  pitted  by  fortune  for  long 
years  against  each  other,  and  now  thrown  peaceably  into 
familiar  contact.  The  contrast,  the  inborn  difference  be 
tween  the  two,  was  strangely  marked  and  striking.  Both 
were  great — but  the  one  born  to  greatness,  the  other  ha,v- 
ing,  by  the  energies  of  his  own  mind,  the  actions  of  his 
own  right  hand,  achieved  it.  Their  features  spoke  vol 
umes  as  to  the  distinction. 

The  king's  were,  indeed,  comely,  and  full  of  a  calm 
natural  majesty,  but  bearing  no  decisive  marks  of  any  ru- 


302  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ling  principle  or  passion ;  no  radiancy  of  intellect ;  no 
manifest  impress  of  character.  Mild,  though  at  the  same 
time  somewhat  stern,  their  chief  expression  was  an  air  of 
cold  and  melancholy  resolution,  not,  perhaps,  inconsistent 
with  the  traits  of  mind  for  which  he  was  remarkable. 
When  gazed  upon,  indeed,  by  one  who  knew  him  as  the 
king,  he  looked  it  every  inch ;  but,  had  he  been  met  in  a 
crowd,  attired  as  a  private  individual,  he  would  have  been 
observed  for  nothing  but  the  easy  bearing  natural  to  eve 
ry  high-born  gentleman. 

The  countenance  of  Cromwell,  on  the  contrary,  owed 
all  its  influence  over  the  mind  of  those  who  saw  him,  and 
powerful,  indeed,  and  universal  was  that  influence,  to  the 
undoubted  stamp  of  genius  ;  to  the  indomitable  resolution, 
the  deeply-seated  and  unfathomable  thought ;  the  quiet 
but  intense  enthusiasm,  graven  in  living  characters  upon 
his  homely  features — to  the  intelligence,  in  short,  and  soul 
that  flashed  out  palpably  from  every  line  and  lineament 
of  his  marked  face.  Seen  in  the  armor  of  the  soldier,  the 
statesman's  robe  of  peace,  the  plain  garb  of  the  every-day 
staid  citizen,  or  the  vile  tatters  of  the  mendicant,  he  could 
not  for  a  second's  space  have  remained  unnoted  as  a  su 
perior  creature;  as  a  man  of  vast  unquestionable  powers. 
But  if,  in  this  respect,  the  carver  out  of  his  own  mighty 
fortunes  surpassed  the  owner  of  legitimate  hereditary 
sway,  in  bearing  and  demeanor  there  was  no  comparison. 
Every  position,  every  movement  of  the  king  was  redolent 
of  ease  and  dignity  combined ;  and  his  repose,  that  hard 
est  test  of  grace,  carelessly  natural  and  unstudied,  was  as 
perfect  in  its  harmony  and  keeping  as  if  it  had  been  the 
result  of  the  most  artful  skill.  The  motions  of  the  Inde 
pendent,  on  the  other  hand,  were  sudden,  rapid,  rough  ; 
his  postures  rigid  and  iron,  when  erect ;  when  seated,  an 
gular  at  any  time  and  awkward,  but  so  more  obviously 
when  brought  into  relief  by  contrast  to  the  elegance  of 
Charles. 

Both  were  dressed  simply  for  their  station  in  society, 
the  king  especially,  who  would  have  been  outshone  at 
first  sight  by  the  poorest  noble  of  his  court.  He  wore  a 
plain  suit  of  black  taffeta,  crossed  by  the  broad  riband  of 
the  garter,  silk  stockings  of  the  same  color,  with  satin 


THE  KING  AXD  HIS  SUCCESSOR.  303 

roses  in  his  shoes,  and  a  short  mantle  of  black  velvet.  His 
sword  was  a  plain  mourning  rapier,  with  a  hilt  of  jet ; 
but  the  deep  falling  collar  round  his  neck  was  of  the  finest 
Brussel's  point,  and  the  star  on  the  left  side  of  his  cloak 
glittered  with  diamonds  of  the  purest  water.  His  visitor, 
who,  as  he  rose  in  dignity  and  station,  had  discarded  the 
slovenly  and  coarse  style  of  his  garments,  Avas  attired 
handsomely  in  a  half  uniform  of  marone-colored  cloth, 
faced  with  black  velvet ;  a  broad  silk  scarf  of  the  same 
hue  was  wound  in  many  folds  about  his  waist,  supporting 
his  steel-hilted  rapier.  Military  boots,  highly  polished 
and  equipped  with  silver  spurs,  met  his  trunk  hose,  fash 
ioned  to  match  his  doublet,  just  below  the  knee ;  and  a 
silk  hat-band,  with  a  silver  clasp,  relieved  his  dark  gray 
beaver. 

"  I  give  you  good  day,  sir,"  said  Charles,  in  answer  to 
the  low  reverence  of  Cromwell ;  "  we  are  well  pleased  to 
see  you,  the  rather  that  we  owe  you  thanks,  for  that,  as 
we  have  learned,  by  your  warm  intercession  with  the  par 
liament,  our  children  have  been  yielded  to  our  prayers." 

"  Verily,"  answered  Cromwell,  "  verily,  if  it  please  your 
highness,  I  hold  this  rnattQr  no  just  cause  for  thanks  ;  sec- 
ing  that,  as  myself  a  father,  whom  the  Lord  hath  vouch 
safed  to  bless  with  a  fair  progeny,  and  as  a  Christian  man, 
who,  having  learned  that  we  should  do  to  others  as  we 
would  have  it  done  to  us,  strives  still  to  put -in  practice 
that  which  he  has  learned,  I  have  but  done  my  duty. 
Permit  me  to  hope,  rather,  that  it  may  be  my  fortune,  in 
the  time  to  come,  in  such  degree  to  minister  unto  your 
majesty's  advancement  and  well-being,  as  may  deserve  not 
your  thanks  only,  but  those  of  this  distracted  realm." 

"  Nevertheless,  we  thank  you  sir,"  returned  Charles, 
with  a  smile  seemingly  sincere  and  natural,  "  both  for  the 
good  which  you  have  done  to  us  already,  and  that  which 
you  profess  your  will  to  do  hereafter.  W^e  will  speak  more 
at  length  when  we  shall  be  alone  ;  and,  in  good  time,  here 
comes  fair  Mistress  Drummond.  Good  Drummond  " — he 
addressed  the  lady  who  now  entered — "  we  will,  if  you 
be  now  at  leisure,  trespass  so  far  upon  your  tune  as  pray 
you  to  bestow  your  care  upon  these  little  ones.  James," 
he  said,  turning  to  the  Duke  of  York,  "  if  Sir  John  Berke- 


304  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ley  be  at  liberty  to  wait  on  you,  you  have  my  license  to 
ride  forth  ;  but  see  you  be  not  absent  over-long.  Fare 
well,  my  little  prattlers,"  and  he  stooped  down  to  kiss  the 
rosy  lips  of  the  young  princess,  laying  his  hand  softly  on 
the  sunny  curls  of  Gloucester.  "  Drummond  will  take 
you  to  the  gardens  ;  and,  in  an  hour  or  two,  you  may  re 
turn  to  me.  Farewell ! — Who  waits  without  ?  "  he  add 
ed,  in  a  louder  voice,  as  the  lady  left  the  chamber  with 
the  children. 

"  Feilding,  your  majesty,"  replied  the  usher,  a  cadet  of 
the  noble  house  of  Denbigh. 

"  Feilding,  we  would  be  private.  What  pages  have 
you  thero  ?  " 

"  jVIildmay  and  Henry  Gage,  so  please  you." 
"  Send  Mildmay  to  the  head  of  the  great  stairs ;  let 
Gage  wait  at  the  entrance  of  the  painted  gallery,  and 
you  bestow  yourself  in  the  fourth  window  hence.  Suffer 
not  anyone  to  pass  the  stairs,  nor  interrupt  us  upon  any  plea 
of  pleasure  or  of  business!  Business,"  he  added,  now  ad 
dressing  Cromwell,  who  had  remained  standing,  hat  in 
hand  —  "  we  will  to  business,  sir,  for  that,  I  trow,  has 
gained  for  me  the  pleasure  of  this  visit.  I  pray  you  sit — 
nearer  the  table,  if  it  please  you  ; "  and,  drawing  forth 
some  papers  from  the  cabinet  before  him,  he  perused 
them  rapidly,  as  if  in  search  of  some  peculiar  passage. 

u  Has  your  grace  found  the  leisure,"  Cromwell  asked, 
"  to  overrun  the  schedule  of  conditions  which  my  son-in- 
law,  Colonel  Ireton,  had  the  honor  to  submit  to  your  at 
tention  ?  " 

"  I  have,  and  carefully,"  answered  the  king ;  "  and,  on 
the  whole,  since,  as  it  seems,  I  may  not  now  do  better,  I 
am  contented  to  abide  by  them.  One  thing,  and  one 
alone,  if  possible,  I  would  have  stricken  out  or  modified. 
'Tis  the  last  article,  I  mean  ;  this  one  relating  to  the  live 
delinquents.  I  cannot,  no,  I  cannot,  on  any  terms,  sur 
render  friends,  whose  only  crime  has  been  their  love  to 
me ;  their  firm  adherence  to  my  fortunes ;  their  sacrifice 
of  all  that  men  hold  dearest,  to  prop  the  falling  fragment 
of  their  master's  greatness.  No,  I  cannot  surrender 
them  to  death — to  such  a  death  as  this.  I  were  no  man 
to  do  so  !  " 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR.  305 

"I  should  regret,"  said  Cromwell,  gravely,  "most  sin 
cerely  that  your  majesty's  objection  to  this  article  were 
absolute ;  for  I  will  not  pretend  one  moment  to  conceal 
from  you  my  full  conviction,  that  on  this  point  the  parlia 
ment  and  army  are  both  alike  determined ;  and  that  re 
fusal  to  surrender  these  men,  not  to  death,  but  to  impar 
tial  trial,  will  break  off  at  once,  and  forever,  all  negotia 
tion.  The  army  are  exasperated  to  the  last  degree 
against  some  of  your  majesty's  advisers ;  and,  I  profess 
to  you,  the  times  crave  very  wary  walking  !  From  par 
liament,  as  I  believe  your  highness  has  discovered  hereto 
fore,  nothing  can  be  hoped.  They  will  not  treat  at  all, 
save  on  the  utter  abolition  of  the  Church  of  England  — 
that  form  to  which  your  grace  is,  as  I  well  believe  —  and 
wherefore  should  you  not  ?  since  to  all  men  there  cannot 
be  one  faith  or  one  opinion,  more  than  one  tone  of  voice 
or  set  of  features — religiously  and  conscientiously  at 
tached  —  and  the  establishment,  throughout  the  land,  of 
their  presbytery."' 

"  Never !  I  never  will  consent  to  it,"  exclaimed  the 
king ;  "  I  will  die  sooner." 

"  Save  on  these  terms,  however,  they  will  never  treat," 
Cromwell  replied.  "  I  have  —  I  do  profess  it  to  your 
grace  —  I  have  labored  with  my  whole  soul  and  spirit, 
wrestling  in  your  behalf  and  for  your  friends'  advantage ; 
and,  truly,  I  scruple  not  to  say  it,  I  hold  there  is  not  one 
among  the  Presbyterian  faction  that  will  consent  to  a  firm 
peace,  while  there  be  any  bishops  in  the  land." 

"I  do  believe,"  said  Charles,  "I  do,  indeed,  believe 
that  you  have  stood  my  friend  of  late  ;  and  I  thank  you 
for  it,  and,  well  I  hope,  the  time  shall  come  when  I  can 
compensate  your  good  deeds  to  the  full." 

"  Your  majesty  may  say  so,  well,"  Cromwell  replied,  im 
pressively  ;  "  I  have  stood  forth  somewhat  too  boldly,  so 
that  I  have — I  grieve  to  say  it,  but,  verily,  truth  must  be 
spoken  always — so  that  I  have  fallen  into  some  suspicion 
even  among  my  veteran  soldiery ;  so  that  they  scoff,  and 
point  at  me  with  jeering  fingers,  and  cry,  'Lo!  he,  that 
puts  his  trust  in  princes ! '  Also  the  adjutators  of  the 
regiments  have  called  into  their  counsel  my  son  Ireton, 
and  wrathfully  entreated  him,  enjoining  it  most  sternly 

20 


306  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

on  him  that  we  shall  hold  no  more  communion  with  your 
highness  unless  some  terms  be  settled,  and  that,  too,  right 

Qr^porlil'V  " 

"Indeed,"  answered  the  king,  "I  had  hoped  that  the 
army  was  disposed  more  loyally." 

"Of  a  truth,"   Cromwell  replied,  "it  was  so;  greatly 
distrusting  the  rogue  Presbyterians,  and  striving   often 
and  sincerely  with  the  Lord  in  spirit,  that  it  would  please 
him  to  replace  your  majesty  in  the  dominion  and  upon 
the  throne  of  your  forefathers  ;  but,  when  you  last  gave 
audience  to  the  adjutators— surely  it  is  a  grievous  thing 
to  say_4)Ut  I  profess  to  you,  as  the  Lord  liveth,  it  is  true, 
all  their  trust  in  your  highness  passed  away  ;  and  all  the 
favor  you  had  met  with  in  their  eyes  departed,  even  as 
morning   clouds    when   the   south   wind   chaseth   them. 
Yea !  and  their  hearts  were  hardened,  and  their  counte 
nances  changed  against  you,  and  against  all  they  deemed 
your  friends.     Moreover,  secretly  have  I — ay,  even  I  my 
self—been  now  advised,  by  letters  from  tried  friends  and 
otherwise,  that  threats  are  rife  against  me  in  the  camp  ; 
how  they  would  lay  wait  privily,  and  dig  a  pit,  and  set  a 
snare  before  me,  and  take  and  smite  me  with  the  sword, 
and  slay  me  under  the  cloud  of  night.     But,  as  I  live, 
they  know  me  not,  who  do  suppose  that  any  fear  of  that 
which  man  can  do  to  me  shall  turn  me  from  performing 
that  which  I  have  tasked  my  spirit  to  accomplish.     Truly 
these  terms,  which  now  lie  here  before  your  majesty,  with 
much  of  danger  and  yet  more  of  difficulty  have  I  pre 
vailed  upon  the  host  to  offer  you.     If  that  it  seem  good 
to  you  to  accept  them,  I  pledge  myself  right  gladly  that 
the  parliament  shall,  ere  long,  consent  likewise.     For,  lo! 
the  army  is  the  mightier  I     But  if— which  I  trust  will  not 
be  the  case— you  shall  determine  to  reject  them,  then  do 
I  wash  my  hands  of  it.     If  by  mine  own  self-sacrifice  I 
could  secure  your  majesty's  and  England's  quiet,  then 
rnio-ht  I,  possibly,  devote  myself;  but,  truly,  I  esteem  it 
mere  insanity  to  rush  upon  mine  own  destruction  when 
naught  is  to  be  gained  proportionate." 

"If  it  be  so,"  answered  Charles,  after  a  briet  pause  oi 

deliberation,  "  and  these  be  the  best  terms  your  friendly 

aid  may  gain  for  me,  I  will  be  frank  with  you,  and  can- 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR.  307 

didly  accept  them.  Rather  would  I  take  harder  terms 
from  the  blunt  honesty  of  your  stout  soldiers,  than  chaffer 
for  conditions,  as  for  vile  merchandize,  with  the  cold  coz 
ening  Presbyterians ;  and,  for  your  own  part,  trust  me 
when  I  say,  that,  next  to  the  Almighty,  with  reverence 
be  it  spoken,  I  hold  you  the  instrument  that  hath  up 
lifted  me  from  the  abyss  of  sorrow,  and  wrought  for  me 
deliverance  and  restoration !  And  I  assure  you  there 
shall  be  a  time  when  you  will  own  me  grateful." 

"This,  then  is  settled,"  Cromwell  replied  ;  "  I  may  an 
nounce  unto  the  host  your  majesty's  unqualified  assent  to 
these  their  propositions." 

"  You  are  at  liberty  to  do  so,"  returned  Charles ; 
"for  myself,  from  this  hour,  I  hold  myself  bound  by 
them." 

"  Right  joyful  am  I,"  exclaimed  Oliver  ;  "  all  thanks  be 
to  the  Lord  of  Hosts !  England  shall  then  have  peace  ! 
Verily,  ere  ten  days  be  passed,  your  majesty  shall  sit  in 
state  at  Westminster." 

"  And  my  first  deed,  when  there,"  said  Charles,  "  in 
guerdon  of  your  much  esteemed  and  faithful  services, 
shall  be  to  raise  my  well-beloved  and  trusty  Cromwell  to 
the  peerage,  under  the  title,  now  extinct,  of  Earl  of  Es 
sex,  and  to  grace  him  with  the  garter  of  St.  George, 
which  never  yet  was  buckled  round  the  knee  of  braver 
leader.  The  parliament,  I  trow,  will  not  object  to  hon 
ors  thus  bestowed  on  their  best  general,  nor  to  my  com 
mending  him  to  the  command  of  England's  armies !  " 

"  Your  majesty  is  gracious,"  answered  the  Independ 
ent,  in  a  tone  half  indignation  and  half  irony ;  "  but,  not 
to  be  made  Prince  of  Wales,  and  heir  to  England's 
crown,  would  I  thus  labor  that  you  should  once  more  oc 
cupy  the  throne,  did  I  not  well  believe  that  England's 
peace  demands  it !  It  is  for  England's  laws  and  England's 
liberties,  not  for  my  personal  aggrandizement,  not  that  I 
should  be  known  as  lord,  or  earl,  nor  yet  by  any  other 
title,  which  is  but  earthly  pomp  and  vanity  before  the 
Lord — not  that  I  should  be  the  owner  of  broad  lands  or 
the  dispenser  of  preferments,  wielding  the  truncheon  of 
the  hosts  of  Britain  —  that  I  have  done  so  much  and  suf 
fered  ;  and,  did  I  not  believe  your  majesty  resolved  hence- 


308  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

forth  to  hold  the  liberties  and  weal  of  all  your  subjects 
nearest  your  heart,  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord  alway  before 
your  eyes,  verily,  I  would  wish  that  my  arm  should  be 
withered  and  my  tongue  palsied,  before  I  would  strike 
one  blow  or  syllable  one  word  to  save  you  from  perdi 
tion  !  But,  now  this  matter  is  so  happily  arranged,  may 
it  please  your  grace  excuse  me.  My  duties  call  me  hence 
to  Windsor,  where  I  should  be  by  noon ! " 

"  Duty,  sir,  needs  no  license,"  Charles  replied,  smiling 
graciously,  and  rising  from  his  seat,  and  even  taking 
three  steps  toward  the  door,  as  the  blunt  soldier  moved 
to  leave  the  presence ;  "  and,  till  we  meet  at  Westmin 
ster,  rest  in  the  full  assurance  of  possessing  your  liege 
sovereign's  gratitude  and  favor.  Ha !  "  he  continued,  as 
the  door  closed,  and  he  found  himself  alone,  "  deep  as  he 
is,  I  have  outgeneralled  him.  Now  he  suspects  not  any 
thing.  Ha !  ha !  the  garter !  and  the  earldom  of  Essex 
—  a  precious  clown,  in  faith,  to  grace  an  earldom !  But 
now  for  Lauderdale  and  Hollis ! — the  dull  fools — we  will 
outwit  them  all,  and  yet  reign,  as  our  father  did  before 
us,  a  king  in  something  more  than  name." 

But  the  enthusiast  strode  forth,  the  tesselated  floor  of 
the  proud  gallery  ringing  beneath  his  massive  stride,  ex 
ulting  and  triumphant ;  and,  as  he  passed  the  vestibule, 
where  there  were  none  to  mark  his  actions,  he  clasped 
both  hands  above  his  head,  and  cried  out  in  a  voice  husky 
and  stifled  with  emotion,  "  My  country  —  oh  my  country 
— have  I  then,  have  I  won  for  thee  peace,  happiness,  and 
freedom  ?  " 


THE  FATAL  LETTER.  309 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE      FATAL     LETTER, 

Let  us  see — 

Leave,  gentle  wax  ;  and,  manners,  blame  us  not: 
To  know  our  enemies1  minds,  we'd  rip  their  hearts; 
Their  papers  is  more  lawful. 

KING  LEAR. 

IT  was  the  third  day  only  after  Cromwell's  interview 
with  Charles,  that  Arden,  who  had  purchased  a  small 
house  in  the  Strand,  with  pleasant  gardens  sloping  to  the 
river,  making  it  his  continual  abode  when  not  engaged 
in  military  duties,  was  walking  on  the  terrace  close  to 
the  water's  edge,  in  one  of  those  abstracted  and  half-mel 
ancholy  moods  which  had  become  almost  habitual  to  him, 
except  when  circumstances  calling  for  sudden  action 
roused  him  at  once  to  all  his  former  energy. 

The  day  had  been  one  of  storm,  more  like  a  winter's 
tempest  than  a  mere  summer's  shower ;  the  rain,  driven 
along  the  river's  course  by  a  cold  eastern  gale,  had  fallen 
constantly  since  daybreak ;  and,  though  toward  evening 
it  had  ceased,  and  the  wind  sunk,  a  thick,  chilling  mist 
crept  up  the  stream,  at  the  first  clinging  only  to  the  op 
posite  shores  and  curtaining  the  distant  objects,  but  in 
creasing  gradually  in  its  volume,  till  the  whole  space  from 
bank  to  bank  was  tilled  with  a  gray  mass  of  fog,  so  pal 
pable  and  dense  that  barge  and  wherry  passed  and  re- 
passed  unseen,  although  the  near  dash  of  their  oars  and 
the  loud  voices  of  the  rowers  showed  that  they  could 
scarcely  be  at  ten  yards  distance. 

A  transient  gleam  of  sunshine  had  drawn  forth  Sir  Ed 
gar  from  his  solitary  studies ;  and,  once  plunged  in  his 
gloomy  reveries,  he  continued  to  walk  to  and  fro,  scarce 
conscious  of  the  increasing  badness  of  the  weather ;  but 
suddenly  as  he  paused  near  the  little  wharf  to  which  his 
barge  was  moored,  a  stern  voice,  whose  accents  of  com 
mand  he  recognized  at  once,  rose  from  the  misty  river 
above  the  splashing  of  the  oars  Avhich  had  for  some  time 
been  approaching. 


310  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

"Ho!  put  in  here,  them  stupid  knave;  here,  at  this 
private  stair ;  'tis  here  we  would  be  landed." 

He  could  not  be  mistaken,  it  was  the  voice  of  Crom 
well  ;  and  immediately  the  sharp  beak  of  a  wherry  ran 
upon  the  steps,  pulled  by  two  watermen,  with  two  more 
men,  soldiers  it  seemed,  reclining  in  the  stern.  Oliver, 
for  one  was  indeed  he,  leaped  out  forthwith,  and  ad 
dressed  Edgar  hastily,  as  if  afraid  that  he  should  speak 
the  first,  and  in  a  tone  so  loud  that  it  was  evident  he 
wished  the  boatmen  to  hear  what  he  said. 

"  Is  not  this,  I  beseech  you,  the  dwelling  of  brave 
Colonel  Arden  ?  We  have  come  hither  from  the  army — 
two  of  the  adjutators — to  bear  tidings  to  him." 

"It  is,  sir,"  Edgar  replied,  quickly  comprehending 
Cromwell's  wish.  "  And  I  am  Colonel  Arden.  I  pray 
you  walk  up  to  the  house,  you  and  your  comrade." 

"  Surely,  most  surely,"  Oliver  replied,  with  well-feigned 
bluntness ;  "  we  have  come  by  the  river  up  from  Brent 
ford,  and  I  profess  that  I  am  chilled,  and  yearning  for  the 
creature  comforts.  How  say  you,  Fast-and-Pray,  think 
you  a  quartern  of  strong  waters  would  go  down  amiss  ? 
You,  watermen,"  he  added,  "  make  fast  your  boat  there 
to  the  stairs,  and  follow  us  to  the  house ;  we  cannot  tarry 
here  in  this  foul  mist  to  pay  your  fares."  They  were 
joined,  while  he  was  speaking,  by  the  other  soldier, 
whom,  despite  his  dress,  Arden  at  first  sight  discovered 
to  be  Ireton ;  and,  although  not  a  little  wondering  at 
their  visit,  and  the  disguise  they  had  adopted,  judging 
the  garden  no  place  for  inquiry,  he  led  them  in  all  haste 
toward  the  house.  Both  wore  coarse  scarlet  cassocks, 
with  buff  breeches  and  immense  jack-boots,  the  uniform 
of  privates  in  the  ironsides  off  duty ;  long  tucks,  with  iron 
scabbards,  hanging  from  their  buff  belts,  and  clattering 
on  the  pavements  as  they  strode  along ;  and  broad-brim 
med  hats  of  felt,  the  flaps  unlooped,  and  covering  their 
brows  as  if  to  guard  against  the  weather.  They  both 
were  furnished  with  tobacco-pipes  —  short,  dingy,  clay 
tubes  —  and  smoked  almost  incessantly,  as  well  to  cloud 
their  features  as  to  afford  a  plausible  excuse  for  silence  ; 
but,  as  a  farther  safeguard  against  inquiring  eyes,  Crom 
well  had  cast  about  him  a  stained  and  weather-beaten 


THE  FATAL  LETTER.  311 

dragoon  cloak  of  frieze,  with  its  cape  muffling  him  well- 
nigh  to  the  mouth.  Ireton  carried  in  his  hand  a  package 
of  some  size,  wrapped  in  an  oil-skin  cover ;  and,  on  a  cas 
ual  meeting,  even  an  intimate  acquaintance  would  have 
detected  nothing  in  their  air  or  demeanor  by  which  to 
judge  them  different  from  what  they  seemed. 

The  moment  they  had  entered  —  "  Let  your  domestics 
instantly  take  arms,"  said  Cromwell,  "  and  lay  these  wa 
termen  by  the  heels ;  they  might  blab  else,  although  I 
think  they  know  us  not ;  and  let  your  trusty  steward 
alone  attend  us;  and  bid  him  see  that  your  doors  be 
locked,  and  that  no  one  of  your  attendants,  on  any  pre 
text,  this  night  cross  the  threshold."  Leading  his  guests 
himself  into  a  small  library  retired  from  the  street  and 
looking  out  upon  the  garden,  Edgar  went  out  to  give  his 
orders.  Before  returning  he  had  seen  the  boatmen,  after 
a  slight  struggle,  secured  in  a  remote  chamber,  with  an 
abundance  of  strong  liquors,  which  he  judged  rightly 
would  at  once  console  them  and  effectually  close  their 
mouths,  and  having  posted  two  stout  watchmen  at  the 
door,  had  given  his  directions  to  old  Anthony,  who, 
since  Sir  Henry's  death,  followed  his  fortunes,  and  held 
the  keys  of  every  door  and  shutter  in  his  own  pos 
session. 

"  Rude  greeting,  this,"  said  Oliver,  as  he  returned ; 
"  but,  of  a  truth,  there  is  deep  need  of  it.  In  brief,  I 
will  acquaint  you  with  the  matter,  for  time  presses. 
Three  days  since  Charles  accepted  fully  the  conditions  of 
the  army,  as  I  wrote  you  on  Monday.  The  adjutators 
are  brought  over.  The  parliament  must  come  to  our 
terms.  So  far  all's  well.  But,  with  the  dawn  to-day,  a 
letter  came  to  me  at  Windsor ;  from  one  who  has  con 
veyed  us  much  intelligence,  and  never  has  deceived  us,  a 
friend  in  the  king's  bedchamber,  verbum  sat !  He  writes 
us  that  Charles  Stuart  hath  been  all  yesterday  in  deep 
debate  with  Ashburnham,  that  firebrand  of  the  queen's ; 
that  their  resolves  are  taken ;  and  that  a  letter  —  of  a 
surety  in  cipher,  but,  then,  we  hold  the  key,  the  Lord  be 
thankful  for  it — is  prepared  for  Henrietta,  to  be  conveyed 
right  cunningly  this  night  to  Dover  by  an  unconscious 
What  the  contents  may  be  our  friend  might 


312  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

not  discover,  though,  as  he  writes,  he  left  no  stone  un 
turned  ;  but  of  this  he  is  certain,  that  it  is  all-important, 
and  decisive  of  the  king's  intention  as  to  the  pending 
treaty.  This  letter  we  must  intercept;  and,  therefore, 
we  rode  straight  in  this  disguise  to  Brentford,  and  thence 
took  boat,  to  baffle  prying  eyes;  and,  so  far,  all  goes 
rightly.  Now  attend !  the  bearer  of  this  letter  will  coine 
at  ten  o'clock  to-night,  carrying  a  saddle  on  his  head,  to 
the  Blue  Boar  in  Holborn,  thence  to  take  horse  for  Do 
ver.  The  man  will  wear  a  green  plush  riding-coat,  and 
breeches  of  the  same ;  the  elboAvs  of  the  doublet  and  the 
seams 'of  the  trunk-hose  guarded  with  neat-skin  leather; 
a  stammel  waistcoat,  and  a  red  riband  round  his  hat, 
which  is  of  dark  gray  felt.  The  saddle  will  be  old,  and 
somewhat  patched  and  ragged ;  and,  in  the  off-side  lap, 
between  the  tree  and  pannel,  the  letter  is  concealed. 
The  man  knows  not  that  it  is  there,  deeming  he  goes  to 
buy  a  famous  hunting  horse  from  one  John  Styles,  a 
horse-courser.  He  is  to  put  up  at  the  Red  Lion  inn  in 
Dover ;  and  there  will  be  one,  knowing  his  description, 
who  shall  search  the  saddle  and  —  find  nothing !  for 
we  must  have  the  packet !  How  goes  the  night,  Sir 
Edgar  ?  " 

"  Past  seven,  I  am  sure ;  nay,"  after  looking  at  his 
watch,  "  but  it  lacks  scant  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  eight. 
I  thought  not  that  it  was  so  late !  " 

"Nay,  then,  we  are  but  just  in  time;  you  will  go  with 
us,  sir,  and  aid  us.  We  must  have  three,  and  know  none 
else  in  whom  we  may  so  perfectly  rely.  You  are  aware 
that  Charles  is  on  parol  not  to  hold  secret  interview  with 
France — his  parol  broken,  there  is  no  breach  of  honesty 
or  honor  in  seizing  and  perusing  his  dispatches.  That 
package  —  open  it  quick,  Ireton  —  contains  a  dress  like 
these  we  now  wear ;  the  uniform  of  one  who  hath  about 
your  inches,  borrowed  for  the  nonce.  It  savors  some 
what  of  tobacco-smoke  and  stale  October,  but  we  must 
not  be  nice.  I  pray  you  don  it  speedily.  Nay,  Ireton, 
you  forget ;  where  is  the  net  to  gather  up  his  lovelocks, 
and  the  peruke  ?  quick !  quick !  "  he  cried,  impatiently 
binding  up  Edgar's  flowing  hair,  and  covering  it  with  a 
foxy  wig,  close-clipped,  and  cut  into  a  hundred  little 


THE  FATAL  LETTER.  313 

peaks,  like  those  which  Cleaveland  mentions  in  his  Hue 
and  Cry,  deriding  them  as  'Hair  in  characters  and  luggs 
in  text.' 

Some  pigment  was  laid  on  his  eyebrows,  whiskers,  and 
mustache,  suiting  them  to  the  color  of  his  false  hair.  A 
kerchief  of  coarse  cotton  next  replaced  his  collar  of  fine 
lace,  and  a  garb  similar  to  that  of  his  companions  was 
donned  in  lieu  of  his  well-fancied  habits.  A  clumsy 
broadsword  was  produced,  with  a  wide  leathern  shoulder- 
belt,  from  under  Cromwell's  cloak ;  and  this,  with  an  old 
pair  of  his  own  military  boots,  carefully  soiled  for  the  oc 
casion,  and  fitted  with  rough  iron  spurs,  and  an  unpol 
ished  head-piece,  completed  his  attire. 

"  Mind,  now,  your  bearing,"  Cromwell  said,  as  they 
left  the  house ;  "  smoke  without  ceasing ;  jostle  a  little 
those  whom  we  meet  with  in  the  streets,  and  quote  the 
strongest  texts  you  may  remember.  When  that  we 
reach  the  inn,  the  great  gate  wTill  be  closed,  the  wicket 
only  open.  We  will  all  enter  in,  and  drink  till  half  past 
nine  of  the  clock ;  then  go  forth  you,  as  if  upon  some  er 
rand  ;  loiter  about  the  gate  until  you  see  our  man ;  fol 
low  in  after  him,  and,  when  he  passeth  up  the  yard  —  for 
he  will  go  directly  to  the  stables  —  bar  instantly  the 
wicket,  and  advise  us !  Now  let  us  move  on  somewhat 
smartly." 

Without  more  words,  they  took  their  way  across  the 
town  toward  Holborn,  through  quarters  which,  though 
now  the  very  heart  and  the  most  populous  portion  of  the 
giant  city,  were  then  but  sparsely  built  upon,  with  fre 
quent  gardens  intervening  between  the  scattered  tene 
ments,  and  miry  lanes,  unlighted  and  ill  paved,  instead  of 
regular  streets.  The  night  continued  dark,  and  so  un 
pleasant  that,  when  they  reached  at  length  the  mighty 
thoroughfare  of  Holborn,  the  street  was  half  deserted  and 
nearly  silent.  Smoking  much  as  they  passed  along,  and 
speaking  little,  they  reached  the  well-known  hostelry. 
Its  gate,  as  Cromwell  had  foreseen,  was  closed  and  locked ; 
but  a  low  wicket  door  gave  ingress  to  the  yard,  a  long, 
irregular  space,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  ram 
bling  buildings  of  the  inn,  with  three  tiers,  one  above  the 
other,  of  open  galleries,  through  which  was  the  access  to 

K 


314  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  chambers,  and  bounded  at  the  end  by  a  long  range 
of  granaries  and  pack-stables.  The  yard  was  nearly  dark ; 
for  but  one  lamp  shone  dimly  over  the  entrance  of 
the  public  room,  just  at  the  left  hand  of  the  gateway  as 
they  entered ;  and,  except  the  lanterns  of  the  hostlers 
flitting  about  the  farther  buildings,  no  other  lights  were 
visible  within ;  but,  as  if  to  make  up  for  the  deficiency,  a 
large  glass  lamp  on  either  side  the  gateway  rendered  the 
street  "in  front  of  it  as  light  as  day.  They  entered  the  tap 
room  abruptly,  in  which  some  four  or  live  grave-looking 
citizens  were*  comforting  themselves,  after  the  business 
of  the  day,  with  poached  eggs  and  canary,  buttered  ale, 
burnt  sack,  and  half  a  dozen  other  drinks  and  dishes  fash 
ionable  in  those  days,  but  long  ago  forgotten ;  and  found 
seats  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  apartment. 

"  Ho  !  landlord !  "  shouted  Cromwell,  "  bring  us  three 
cans  of  your  best  double  ale  —  good  measure,  and  be 
quick  about  it !  Surely,  my  flesh  doth  thirst  for  a  cool 
drink,  even  as  the  faint  spirit  thirsteth  for  a  soul-search 
ing  exposition  of  the  mysteries  that  be  essential  to  sal 
vation." 

"  Such  as  Lieutenant  Profit-by-the-word  poured  forth 
to  our  great  edifying  yester  even,"  Ireton  answered; 
"verily,  good  man,  he  was  upheld  most  marvellously. 
Four  hours  did  he  hold  forth  steadily,  not  waxing  faint 
in  flesh  nor  weary  in  well-doing,  but  borne  along  in 
spirit  with  exceeding  fervor,  and  his  voice  ringing  like 
trumpet,  louder  at  every  close.  Truly,  a  second  Boan 
erges." 

**Ayl  and  he  touched  with  the  true  unction  on  that 
hard  rock  which  splits  all  weaker  vessels,  the  full  justifi 
cation  of  the  soul  by  faith,  the  utter  needlessness  of  works 
to  save,  when  that  the  soul  is  filled ;  ay,  as  a  tankard 
that  doth  overflow  its  brim  —  and  lo !  my  can  is  ^out. 
Ho  !  tapster,  fill  us  the  good  black  gallon  jack,  and  fetch 
us  more  tobacco  —  or  as  a  mill-dam  that  doth  burst  its 
banks,  with  the  true  grace  of  God  ! » 

"  Yea ! "  answered  Ireton,  "  yea  verily  he  did ;  but  I 
bethought  me  somewhat  that  he  o'ershot  the  mark  when 
he  did  undertake  to  prove  that  those  who  have  been  once 


THE  FATAL  LETTER.  315 

in  grace  may  never  relapse  into  sin,  and  that  unto  the 
pure  all  things  are  pure  and  holy." 

"  Why,  you  must  be  an  infidel,"  returned  the  other. 
"  What !  know  you  not  that  vice  and  virtue  be  but  names 
— not  of  aught  tangible  or  real  —  not  of  things  that  exist 
without  the  body  —  but  of  mere  fantasies,  abstractions 
whose  seat  is  in  the  mind.  Surely  it  is  the  spirit  in  w^hich 
a  thing  is  done,  and  not  the  thing  itself,  that  makes  the 
virtue  or  the  vice.  Lo  !  when  you  slay  a  man  in  hand  to 
hand  encounter,  fighting,  it  may  be,  in  the  deadly  breach, 
or  riding  on  the  cannon's  mouth,  truly  it  is  imputed  not 
as  an  act  of  sin,  but  an  heroical  and  manly  deed  of  glory 
—  as  when  strong  Samson  killed  his  thousands  —  ay,  or, 
yet  more  to  the  point,  when  Heber's  wife  the  Kenite 
smote  Sisera  within  the  tent  and  slew  him,  though  a  sup 
pliant  and  a  guest ;  but  had  she  driven  in  that  self-same 
nail  to  satisfy  vile  lust  of  gain  or  murtherous  revenge, 
then  had  it  been  guilt  in  her — shame  while  on  earth  and 
infamy  —  and,  though  we  should  not  judge — judgment 
hereafter  and  perdition.  Thus,  in  the  soul  is  the  distinc 
tion  ;  it  maketh  its  own  righteousness,  it  maketh  its  own 
sin!  All  that  is  done  for  virtue  becomes  virtue.  To 
whom  all  things  seem  pure,  verily,  all  things  are  pure ! 
Yea,  if  a  man  have  the  grace  given  him  to  look  upon  that 
which,  to  the  unregenerate,  would  be  the  darkest  and 
most  damning  sin,  and  to  believe  it  lawful  —  verily,  then, 
to  him  it  would  be  lawful !  " 

Thus  he  continued,  plunging  into  the  wildest  and  most 
bewildering  depths  of  metaphysics,  half  acting,  as  it 
seemed  to  Edgar,  an  unreal  character,  and  half  believing 
what  he  said  ;  while  Ireton,  an  enthusiast  in  politics,  but 
sober  and  clear-headed  in  religious  matters  as  compared 
with  others  of  his  class,  kept  up  the  conversation  merely 
to  play  the  part  assigned  him;  and  Edgar,  who  —  as 
Cromwell  had  once  said  in  his  defense  against  some  who 
had  termed  him  cavalier  and  half  malignant,  had  not  the 
gift  to  preach  or  pray,  yet  had  the  gift  to  counsel  more 
advisedly  and  fight  more  fearlessly  than  any  sniveller  of 
them  all — joined  not  at  all  in  the  discourse,  but  smoked 
his  pipe  and  drained  his  horn  in  silence  till  the  appointed 
time  arrived — when,  making  some  excuse  to  his  com- 


316  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

pardons,  he  left  the  tap-room,  and  strolled  out  into  the 
street. 

Here  he  lounged  carelessly  about,  now  gazing  vacantly 
into  the  lighted  window  of  some  cookshop,  now  feigning 
some  attempt  at  gallantry  toward  such  wandering  dam 
sels  as  had  neither  been  deterred  from  their  nocturnal 
walks  by  the  unpleasant  weather  nor  by  the  rigid  morals 
of  the  Puritans,  and  most  successfully  maintaining — while 
he,  in  truth,  kept  a  strict  watch  both  up  and  down  the 
street — the  semblance  of  a  mere  loitering  idler.  Just  as 
the  clock  was  chiming  the  first  stroke  of  ten,  he  saw  his 
man  approaching,  bearing  a  saddle  on  his  head,  and  clad 
precisely  as  had  been  described.  He  was  a  tall,  stout, 
servant-looking  fellow,  rudely  and  fresh-complexioned, 
but  without  one  gleam  of  intellect  in  his  broad,  jovial 
face ;  the  last  man  in  the  world  one  would  have  taken 
for  a  spy  or  trusted  emissary.  This  Edgar  saw,  as  he 
passed  by  him  near  a  lighted  shop ;  he  suffered  him  to 
get  some  dozen  paces  in  advance,  and  then,  with  a  slow, 
sauntering  gate,  pursued  him.  He  saw  him  stoop  be 
neath  the  wicket,  and,  without  looking  to  the  right  or 
left,  walk  up  the  yard  toward  a  group  of  hostlers  playing 
at  odd  or  even  on  a  horseblock  round  a  dingy  lantern. 
Silently  and  unseen  he  dropped  the  bar  across  the  wicket, 
and  looked  into  the  taproom. 

"  Tarry,"  said  Cromwell,  "  tarry  yet  a  while  ;  the  bird 
is  ours !  " 

In  a  few  minutes  the  sound  of  a  horse's  hoofs  were 
heard  upon  the  pavement.  "  Now,  then,"  cried  Oliver, 
"  now ! "  and,  instantly  unsheathing  his  long  tuck,  he 
darted  through  the  doorway,  followed  immediately  by 
Ireton  and  Sir  Edgar,  likewise  with  drawn  swords. 
Cromwell  had  reached  the  man  before  they  overtook 
him;  but  Arden  heard  him  say,  "You  ride* forth  late, 
my  friend,  but  we  be  placed  here  in  the  name  and 
by  the  orders  of  the  parliament  to  search  all  goers- 
out.  But,  verily,  thou  lookest  like  an  honest  lad. 
Thou  hast,  I  warrant  me,  nothing  that  thou  wouldst  care 
to  hide!" 

"  Not  I,  i'faith,"  replied  the  stranger,  bluntly ;  "  search 


THE  FATAL  LETTER.  317 

away,  Master  Soldier,  if  such  be  your  orders,  but  I  pray 
you  delay  me  not,  because  I  am  in  haste." 

"Lead  the  man's  horse  into  the  stable,"  Fast-and- 
Pray,"  said  Cromwell,  glancing  his  eyes  toward  Ireton, 
"'twere  shame  to  let  the  dumb  beast  stand  here  in 
the  pelting  rain ;  and  thou,  good  Win-the-fight,  come 
in  with  us.  Verily,  friend,  we  will  not  long  detain 
thee ;  but  a  horn  of  ale  will  not  harm  thee  this  dark 
night,  I  trow." 

"Not  it,  not  it!"  replied  the  fellow;  "what  would 
you  have  now  ?  " 

"  Oh !  turn  thy  pockets  out.  Surely  we  will  not  be  too 
hard  with  thee.  Well !  well !  this  is  a  purse  ;  good  lack, 
a  heavy  one  !  and  this  is  a  letter  '  to  Master  Styles,  horse 
courser,  Dover  ! '  Look  sharp  that  he  be  not  too  deep 
for  thee,  this  John  Styles — he  played  our  Colonel  Whal- 
ley  a  foul  trick  with  a  spavined  jade  some  two  years  past. 
He  is  a  keen  blade.  Well !  this  is  a  pipe ;  and  this  a 
'bacco-box ;  so !  so  ! — in  these  there  is  no  treason.  Truly, 
I  said  thou  wert  an  honest  fellow ;  and  I  was  not  de 
ceived.  Another  cup  of  ale  ?  Tush,  never  mince  the 
matter,  'twill  warm  thee  more  than  thy  plush  jerkin. 
Upseys !  so  !  down  with  it  like  lambs-wool.  Well,  thou 
mayst  go  now,  so  thou  wilt  not  tarry  and  have  a  rouse 
with  us.  Ho  !  Fast-and-Pray,  bring  out  the  worthy  fel 
low's  horse ;  he  is  not  such  as  we  be  sent  to  look  for, 
and — now  I  think  of  it — our  time  of  watch  is  ended." 
A  quick  glance  interchanged  with  his  son-in-law  assured 
the  general  that  the  letter  was  secured  ;  so,  slapping  the 
messenger  upon  the  back,  he  bade  him  mount,  and  God 
go  with  him ;  and  as  he  rode  away,  unconscious  that  his 
journey  was  now  useless,  the  three  companions  hurried 
to  Arden's  house,  where  they  might  profit  by  their  prize 
in  safety. 

A  short  half  hours'  walk  placed  them  before  his  door ; 
so  quickly,  goaded  to  their  utmost  speed  by  anxious  curi 
osity,  did  they  retrace  their  steps.  Lights  were  set  in 
the  library,  the  curtains  closely  drawn,  the  door  locked, 
and  then  Ireton  produced  the  packet ;  it  was  a  small  dis 
patch,  and  fastened  with  a  plain  flaxen  cord  and  ordinary 
seal,  addressed  to  "  Master  Ephraim  Mackleworth  " — ev- 


318  OLIVER  CROMWELL 

idently  a  feigned  name — "  at  the  .Red  Lion,  Dover/' 
Within  this  was  a  small  letter,  simply  directed  to  H.  M.  R., 
bound  with  a  skein  of  white  floss  silk,  and  fastened  with 
the  impression  of  a  finely-cut  antique  upon  green  wax. 
Oliver  caught  it  with  an  impatient  gesture  from  the  hand 
of  Ireton,  broke  the  seal,  cast  his  eyes  hastily  upon  it,  and 
exclaiming,  "  Nay,  it  is  not  in  cypher,"  read  thus  aloud : — - 

"  DEAREST  AND  BEST  MARIE — 

"  I  have  received  your  kind  and  most  consoling  letter 
of  July,  from  the  tried  friend  who  bore  it.  The  wisdom 
of  your  counsels  I  acknowledge,  and,  so  far  as  in  me  lies, 
will  follow  them.  But,  trust  me,  girl,  better  and  brighter 
days  are  yet  in  store  for  us.  I  do  assure  you  I  am  even 
now  more  king — more  powerful  and  free — than  ere  I 
raised  my  standard ;  so  that  I  doubt  not,  with  a  little  pa 
tience  and  a  small  share  of  finesse,  all  shall  be  yet  as  we 
would  have  it.  I  am  now  courted  by  all  parties — English 
and  Scottish — Presbyterians,  Independents — parliament 
and  army — all  prostrate  at  my  feet — all  rivals  for  my  fa 
vor,  and  balanced,  too,  so  equally,  that  whom  I  join  so 
ever  carries  the  day.  In  truth,  chiefly  do  I  incline  toward 
the  Scots ;  but,  for  the  present,  seem,  for  my  own  purpo 
ses,  to  favor  more  the  army.  In  the  end,  whoso  bids  the 
highest  has  me.  You  disapprove,  you  tell  me,  my  '  prom 
ising  so  much  to  those  two  villains,  Ireton  and  Cromwell.' 
Now,  I  beseech  you,  be  not  alarmed  nor  troubled ;  but 
leave  me  to  manage,  who  am  informed  far  better  of  all 
circumstances  than  you,  by  any  means,  can  be ;  and  on 
this  head  rest  altogether  easy,  for  in  due  season  I  shall 
know  how  to  deal  with  these  rogues,  who,  for  a  silken 
garter,  shall  be  fitted  with  a  hempen  rope !  This  by  a 
mode  that  can  by  no  chance  fail ;  wherefore,  though 
briefly — as  my  space  compels — I  yet  write  plainly.  If  all 
things  prosper  with  me,  as  I  have  now  good  "cause  to 
deem  they  will — for  all  the  factions,  themselves  cozened, 
look  on  the  others  as  outwitted — I  shah1  once  more  em 
brace  the  well-beloved  queen  and  mistress  of  my  heart, 
greater  and  far  more  powerful  than  ever,  ere  many 
months  shall  pass,  in  our  own  palace  of  Whitehall. 


TH  E  FATAL  LETTE  K,  319 

"  Until  the  Lord,  in  his  good  time,  shall  bring  which 
things  to  pass, 

"  Your  loving  husband  and  idolater, 

"C.  R." 

With  a  calm  voice,  though  bitter  in  the  extreme  and 
scornful,  Cromwell  read  out  this  document.  Ireton's  eye 
flashed  fire,  and,  as  his  father-in-law  ended,  he  violently 
dashed  his  hand  upon  the  table — 

"  Whose  dogs  are  we,"  he  cried,  in  fierce  and  ringing 
tones,  "  that  we  should  be  thus  scandalously  dealt  with  ? 
As  the  Lord  liveth  he  shall  die  the  death !  " 

"But  three  days  since,"  said  Cromwell,  "hypocrite 
that  he  is,  base  knave,  and  liar,  he  proclaimed,  through  me, 
his  full  acceptance  of  the  army's  terms — his  last  words  were, 
'  and  for  myself  henceforth  I  hold  me  bound  by  them ! ' 
and  I,  fool  that  I  was,  ./did  rejoice,  and  triumphed  in  my 
heart  that  England  should  have  peace  !  and  now — he  will 
hang  both  us !  ay,  HANG  !  Can  there  be  any  trust  in  such 
a  man  ?  " 

"  None  !  "  answered  Edgar,  mournfully,  "  there  can  in 
deed  be  none.  It  is  long  since  I  have  even  dreamed  there 
could.  He  is  unstable  as  the  sands  of  the  seashore,  and 
false — as  fortune!  " 

"  Alas !  alas !  for  England  !  "  Oliver  exclaimed,  in  deep 
impressive  tones.  "  If  it  be  thy  will,  mighty  Lord,  that 
this  thy  servant  be  a  prey  and  victim  to  this  man  of  Be 
lial,  truly  I  am  prepared.  But  for  this  goodly  and  regen 
erate  land,  for  this  oppressed  and  miserable  people,  in 
whose  behalf  already  many  times  thou  hast  displayed  the 
wonders  of  thy  might,  the  miracles  of  thine  invincible 
right  hand,  not  for  myself1 — not  for  myself,  oh  Lord,  poor 
sinner  that  I  am  and  leaky  vessel,  do  I  presume  now  to 
remonstrate,  to  strive  earnestly — to  wrestle  as  did  Jacob 
in  the  dark — against  thy  great  decrees — but  for  this 
lovely  isle — this  precious  England !  " 

"  With  Caiaphas  I  say,"  returned  the  fiery  Ireton, 
with  Caiaphas!  Jew  though  he  was,  unrighteous  judge,  and 
murtherer  of  the  Lord's  anointed  !  '  Ye  know  not ' — 't  is  to 
you  I  say  it,  my  friends  and  fellow-soldiers — 4  nor  consider 


320  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

that  it  is  expedient  for  us  that  one  man  should  die  for 
the  people,  and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not ! '  " 

This  bold  speech  for  that  night  ended  the  debate. 
Cromwell  was  silent ;  though  the  remarkable  and  reso 
lute  compression  of  his  mouth,  and  the  deep  frown  that 
furrowed  his  high  forehead,  and  the  determined  gleam  of 
his  hard  eye,  snowed  that  his  silence  was  produced  by 
anything  rather  than  doubt  or  fear ;  and  Arden,  at  this 
last  and  heaviest  blow,  was,  for  the  moment,  wholly  over 
come.  He  saw  the  certain  peril,  the  imminent  and  over 
whelming  ruin,  but  he  saw  neither  refuge  nor  escape. 
He  felt  that,  while  Charles  lived,  England  could  never  be 
at  rest ;  but  he  did  not  feel  that  his  death  would  give 
her  that  repose  which  she  desired  now  more  almost  than 
liberty. 

In  gloom  that  evening  they  had  met ;  in  deeper  gloom 
they  parted ;  save  Ireton  alone,  who  seemed  elate  and  al 
most  joyous.  For,  fraught  with  a  sincere  unselfish  patri 
otism  that  would  not  have  disgraced  an  ancient  Roman, 
a  wild  and  daring  theorist,  a  confident  and  bold  believer 
in  the  perfectibility  of  man  and  in  the  supreme  excellence 
of  democratic  form,  he  fancied  that  he  now  foresaw  the 
advent  of  his  dearest  wishes,  the  overthrow  of  monarchy 
and  aristocracy  forever,  the  birth  of  a  seagirt  republic, 
the  creation  of  a  British  state,  unequalled  in  the  annals 
of  the  world!  more  wise  and  eloquent  than  the  free 
Athens !  in  morals  more  severe  than  Sparta !  in  grace 
more  elegant  than  Corinth !  in  empire,  arms,  and  glory 
more  magnificent  than  Rome ! 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  321 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A    MUTINY     SUPPRESSED. 

fllo.  Treason  and  mutiny ! 

TerUTzy.  And  what  farther  now  ? 

JU0.   "Tiefenbach's  soldters,  when  1  gave  the  orders 

To  go  off  guard.     Mutinous  villains ! 
Wattenstein.    What  followed  ? 

lUo.  They  refused  obedience  to  them. 

Tertsky.    Fire  on  them  instantly !    Give  out  the  order. 

COLEKIDGE  FBOM  SciiiLLEK. —  Wottenstetn. 

SADLY  and  wearily  the  year  wore  onward ;  the  golden 
days  of  summer  were  already  passed ;  the  leaves,  which 
had  so  greenly  flourished  a  few  weeks  before,  grew  sere 
like  human  hopes,  and  were  whirled  wildly  from  their  hold 
by  each  succeeding  blast.  Autumn  had  waned  already 
into  winter  ;  yet  still  the  leaders  of  the  army,  after  their 
seizure  of  the  fatal  letter,  wrhich  necessarily  ruined  the 
king's  cause,  remained  inactive,  as  it  seemed,  at  Wind 
sor  ;  but,  in  truth,  hushed  in  grim  repose,  and  waiting 
the  maturity  of  those  events  which  they  foresaw  dis 
tinctly,  and  expected  with  a  stern  and  vengeful  pleasure. 

Meantime  the  privates  became  every  day  more  restless 
and  ungovernable.  Distrusting  their  own  officers,  while 
they  held  daily  intercourse  with  the  king's  friends,  now 
that  they  had  withdrawn  themselves  from  all  communica 
tion  with  him,  they  imagined  not  that  the  correspondence 
was  indeed  at  an  end,  but  that  some  scheme  had  been  de 
termined  to  the  exclusion  and  betrayal  of  their  interests, 
and  raved  accordingly  in  their  religious  and  political  as 
semblies  with  equal  fury  against  the  carnal-minded  parlia 
ment  and  the  grandees,  as  they  now  termed  their  own 
superior  officers. 

The  regiment  of  Arden  was  perhaps  the  only  one  of 
the  whole  army  wilich  had  entirely  resisted  this  conta 
gion  ;  for  having  taken  arms,  many  from  personal  attach 
ment  to  their  young  leader,  whose  neighbors  or  tenants 
formed  a  great  portion  of  the  soldiers,  many  from  a 
sense  of  political  oppression,  but  none  from  any  feeling 
N*  21 


322  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  fanaticism  or  religious  fury ;  the  most  part  being  of 
the  Episcopal  persuasion,  they  looked  on  unconcerned, 
while  their  companions  were  indulging  in  the  loudest  tu 
mults,  and  reposed  all  their  trust  in  the  high  talents  and 
integrity  of  their  commander. 

Often  times,  since  the  memorable  evening  of  the  inter 
cepted  letter,  Cromwell  and  Arden  had  debated  on  the 
next  step  to  be  taken,  and  on  the  future  prospects  of 
their  country ;  and  both  had  often  and  again  grieved  at 
their  inability  to  shape  out  any  course  by  which  they 
might  hope  confidently  to  eschew  the  breakers,  which 
they  could  see  directly  in  their  track. 

Both  clearly  saw  that  the  king's  union  with  the  Pres 
byterians  would  but  be  the  beginning  of  a  worse  tyranny, 
both  in  the  church  and  state,  than  that  which  they  had 
overthrown;  and  both  saw  likewise  that  with  these, 
rather  than  with  the  army,  he  would  assuredly  at  last 
make  common  cause.  Cromwell,  in  this  dilemma,  hinted, 
rather  than  openly  declared,  his  own  opinion,  founded  in 
part  upon  the  evident  determination  of  the  army,  that 
the  king  should  be  brought  to  trial,  and,  if  found  guilty, 
suffered  to  reap  the  harvest  of  his  perjury,  dissimulation, 
and  oppression ;  yet,  while  maintaining  both  the  policy 
and  justice  of  the  measure,  he  was  still  at  a  loss  to  say 
what  plan  should  be  adopted  for  the  future  government 
of  England,  thus  to  be  left  without  a  head. 

Avowing  himself  favorable  to  a  mixed  form,  composed, 
as  heretofore,  of  three  estates,  with  the  executive  depart 
ment  vested  in  one  officer  of  ample  powers  though  lim 
ited,  he  yet  could  point  out  none  on  whom  the  choice 
could  fall  with  safety  and  propriety.  Sir  Edgar,  on  the 
other  hand — acknowledging  the  perfect  justice,  doubted 
the  policy,  of  the  king's  execution — thinking  that  wilder 
anarchy  would  follow  at  the  first,  and  ultimately  either 
the  Presbyterian  influence,  which  they  now  chiefly  feared, 
prevail,  or  one  strong-handed  military  tyrant  rise  from 
the  chaos  of  licentious  freedom. 

Ireton,  in  the  meantime,  the  leader  of  a  powerful  fac 
tion,  declared  at  all  times  his  desire  for  a  republic,  founded 
upon  a  general  franchise  of  the  whole  people ;  and  Har 
rison,  who  represented  a  yet  more  fanatical  and  phren- 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  323 

sied  party,  calling  themselves  fifth-monarchists,  looking 
forward  to  the  near  approach  of  the  millennium,  and,  ar 
rogating  to  themselves  an  absolute  perfection,  claimed  an 
equality  of  rights,  of  power,  and  of  property  for  all  men. 
All  of  these,  however,  alike  agreed  on  the  expedience  of 
awaiting  the  occurrence  of  some  overt  action  on  the  part 
of  Charles  or  of  the  Presbyterians. 

For  this  they  had  not,  indeed,  long  to  tarry;  for,  on 
the  morning  of  the  twelfth  day  of  November,  the  gentle 
men  whose  office  it  was  to  wait  upon  his  chamber  found 
that  the  king  was  not  there,  and  that  his  bed  had  not 
been  used  that  night.  Three  letters  in  his  own  handwri 
ting  lay  upon  the  table ;  two  to  the  parliament,  one  to 
the  speaker  of  each  house,  and  a  third  to  the  General 
Fairfax.  After  the  first  excitement  had  subsided,  it  was 
discovered  that  Sir  John  Berkeley,  Legg,  and  Ashburn- 
ham  were  missing ;  and  the  hoof  marks  of  four  horses 
were  traced  readily  in  the  moist  ground  close  to  the  pas 
tern  of  the  garden,  into  which  there  was  a  private  pas 
sage  from  the  chamber  of  the  king.  In  none  of  the  three 
letters  was  it  stated  whither  he  had  fled,  but  simply  that 
he  had  found  it  needful  to  withdraw  himself,  in  conse 
quence,  as  he  was  well  assured,  of  plots  existing  for  his 
assassination,  and  that  he  should  hold  himself  concealed 
until  some  settlement  was  made  for  the  well-governance 
and  quiet  of  the  kingdom. 

The  news  of  this  escape  produced  the  greatest  tribula 
tion  in  the  houses.  It  was  believed,  and  generally  dreaded, 
that  the  king  was  in  hiding  somewhere  within  the  city ; 
that  the  Presbyterian  party  and  the  royalists  had  privily 
united,  and  that  a  sudden  rising  would  ensue,  and  massacre 
of  all  opposed  to  it.  An  act  passed  instantly,  prohibiting, 
on  pain  of  death  and  confiscation,  any  persons  from  har 
boring  the  king  without  conveying  notice  to  the  parlia 
ment.  Expresses  were  sent  off  to  every  seaport  town, 
laying  a  strict  embargo  on  all  vessels  ;  and  every  person 
who  had  fought  on  the  king's  side  in  the  late  wars  was 
banished  from  the  city,  and  any  other  place  within  a  cir 
cuit  of  ten  miles  round  London.  Meanwhile  the  hapless 
monarch,  having  ridden  day  and  night  toward  the  south 
western  coast,  frustrated,  by  the  mismanagement,  or,  as 


324  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

some  say,  the  treachery  of  Ashburnham,  in  his  desire  of 
taking  ship  from  the  New  Forest,  sought  refuge  for  a 
space  at  Titchfield  House  in  Hampshire ;  and,  finally,  with 
an  incomprehensible  degree  of  folly,  surrendered  himself 
to  Hammond,  a  strict  friend  of  Cromwell,  governor  of 
the  Isle  of  Wight. 

It  was  the  second  day  after  the  flight  of  Charles,  while 
yet  the  commons  were  in  much  confusion  and  dismay, 
that  Cromwell,  rising  in  his  place  with  such  an  air  of  sat 
isfaction  as  led  many  to  suppose  that  he  was  privy  to  the 
whole  proceedings,  announced  that  he  had  received  let 
ters  from  Colonel  Hammond — a  man  so  honest  and  devo 
ted  to  the  service  of  the  parliament  that  they  should  not 
distrust  him,  nor  imagine  him  incapable  of  standing  against 
any  method  of  corruption — to  the  effect  that  Charles, 
with  all  his  company,  was  now  held  in  all  honor,  but  with 
due  care  to  his  safe-keeping,  in  the  stronghold  of  Caris- 
brook,  until  the  pleasure  of  the  houses  should  be  known. 

Quieted  instantly  by  this  assurance,  the  parliament  pro 
ceeded  to  draw  up  and  remit  to  Charles  four  acts,  con 
taining  in  effect,  a  greater  cession  of  his  powers  than  any 
heretofore  demanded,  as  the  sole  terms  on  which  they 
would  treat  with  him  now  at  all.  These  he  at  once  refused, 
and  was,  in  consequence,  committed  into  closer  custody, 
means  being  taken,  by  the  removal  of  his  royalist  atten 
dants  and  otherwise,  to  frustrate  all  attempts  at  a  new 
flight.  At  the  same  time  the  Scotch  commissioners  went 
down  with  the  conditions  he  had  at  Hampton  Court  in 
dignantly  rejected,  by  which  they  should  engage  to  in 
vade  England  with  sufficient  force  to  establish  him  upon 
the  throne,  but  on  condition  that  the  prince  and  queen 
should  presently  repair  to  Scotland ;  that  the  presbytery 
and  church-directory  should  be  at  once  enforced  through 
out  all  England ;  and  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  north 
ern  counties  should  be  ceded  to  the  sister  kingdom ; 
and,  in  that  moment  of  despair,  these  crafty  plotters  pre 
vailed  with  him  to  sign  and  ratify  that  secret  treaty — a 
treaty  as  injurious  as  degrading  to  his  English  subjects, 
and  far  more  rigorous  in  its  restrictions  on  himself  than 
the  easier  terms  which  his  unalterable  hatred  and  con 
tempt  of  parliament  had  led  him  peremptorily  to  refuse. 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED,  325 

On  the  fifteenth  of  the  same  month,  a  statement  of  the 
king's  escape,  his  present  secure  situation,  and  the  propo 
sitions  tendered  to  him  by  the  parliament,  was  sent  down 
to  the  army,  with  a  remonstrance  ably  penned  by  Fair 
fax,  refuting  the  strong  calumnies  which  had  been  cast 
against  the  principal  commanders,  and  setting  forth  the 
motives  of  their  conduct.  Armed  with  this  potent  docu 
ment,  Cromwell,  as  the  most  firm,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
best-beloved  of  all  the  officers,  was  selected  to  this  peril 
ous  but  honorable  duty ;  and,  taking  with  him  Ar  den's 
well  disciplined  and  trusty  regiment,  without  delay  or 
hesitation  he  repaired  to  Ware.  This  place  was,  at  that 
time,  the  headquarters  of  some  five  or  six  thousand  sol 
diers  at  the  least,  who,  stimulated  by  their  adjutators, 
and  believing  that  the  flight  of  Charles  was  preconcerted 
and  connived  at  by  the  grandees  of  the  host,  were  in 
state  of  turbulence  bordering  closely  upon  actual  mutiny. 
It  was  about  eleven  of  the  clock  on  a  bright  frosty  morn 
ing  that  Cromwell,  with  his  small  life-guard,  reached 
Ware.  Causing  his  trumpets  to  sound  through  the 
streets,  he  summoned  all  the  regiments  to  get  themselves 
together  orderly  upon  the  green,  to  hear  a  proclamation 
from  the  lord  general ;  and,  ere  this  summons  had  been 
well  delivered,  they  turned  out,  not,  indeed,  orderly  or 
in  good  discipline,  but  in  loud  and  tumultuous  disarray. 

They  were  all  under  arms,  although  expressly  contrary 
to  orders;  two  regiments  especially *of  musketeers,  who 
had  their  caps  adorned  with  ribands,  inscribed  as  a  motto 
of  insubordination,  with'  the  words 

"For  the  people's  freedom  and  the  soldier's  right!  " 

were  observed  to  be  in  full  field  order,  with  their  ban 
doliers  slung  round  them,  and  the  matches  of  their  harque- 
busses  lighted.  Among  these,  as  Cromwell  advanced 
slowly  toward  them,  accompanied  by  Arden  only,  and 
followed  at  a  little  distance  by  a  dismounted  captain's 
guard  with  drawn  swords,  but  no  firearms — the  remainder 
of  the  regiment  halting  in  line  a  little  farther  in  the  rear 
wild  disorganizing  shout  arose,  "  Equality  of  rights ! 


320  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

equality  of  rights !  No  king !  no  coalition !  Down  with 
the  false  grandees  !  " 

But  when,  with  his  long  sturdy  strides,  and  his  stern 
features  perfectly  calm,  but  resolute  and  hard  as  if  they 
had  been  cast  in  iron,  he  had  closed  with  them,  the  shouts 
ceased  suddenly.  Slowly  he  walked  along  their  front, 
looking  each  private  full  and  firmly  in  the  eye  ;  and  few 
were  there  who  dared  to  meet  with  an  unblenching  brow, 
his  concentrated  glare  of  anger  and  defiance.  Halting  at 
length  directly  opposite  to  the  two  regiments  of  musket 
eers,  he  drew  out  the  proclamation. 

"  I  have  a  paper  here,"  he  said,  "  to  read  to  you  from  the 
lord-general.  Not  to  mutineers,  however,  but  to  soldiers 
was  I  sent!  Extinguish  instantly  those  matches!"  he 
added,  in  a  tone  somewhat  louder,  yet  so  severe  and  pas 
sionless,  that  one  battalion  obeyed  on  the  moment.  "  How 
dare  ye  muster  thus  ?  Out  of  your  caps  with  those  unsol- 
dierly  and  villain  mottoes — out  with  them  !  Nay !  but 
ye  shall  trample  them  beneath  your  feet ! "  and,  awed  by 
his  immovable  determination,  the  same  battalion  once 
again  complied ;  while  the  great  bulk  of  that  tumultuous 
assembly  looked  on  in  abashed  wonder,  and,  ordering  as 
rapidly  as  possible  their  unmilitary  and  ill-dressed  front, 
assumed  an  air  of  perfect  discipline  and  a  right  soldierly 
demeanor.  Not  so  the  second  regiment ;  for,  brandishing 
their  arms  aloft,  they  raised  a  deep  and  scornful  murmur,  in 
creasing  gradually  into  a  shout  of  absolute  defiance.  Nay, 
some  brought  down  their  harquebusses  to  the  ready  move 
ment,  and  even  cocked  them ;  but  not  one  man  removed 
the  motto  of  rebellion.  It  was  a  moment  of  anxiety,  if  not 
of  real  peril ;  for,  though  the  great  mass  of  the  men  Avere 
quiet,  they  yet  wore  an  air  of  sullen  and  almost  savage 
discontent,  which  clearly  showed  their  temper,  and  made 
it  but  too  probable  than  any  overt  action,  of  one  com 
pany  even,  would  kindle  the  whole  body  into  a  sudden 
blaze  of  fury. 

"  Heard  ye  not,"  Oliver  proceeded,  in  a  voice  pitched 
several  notes  below  his  usual  key,  but  so  full  of  intense 
resolve,  of  quiet  but  indomitable  spirit,  that  it  thrilled  to 
the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  it,  even  of  those  who  still  re 
sisted,  "  or  do  ye  dare  to  disobey  me  ?  You  sir,"  he 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  327 

continued,  stepping  close  up  to  the  ranks,  which  now  be 
gan  to  waver  somewhat,  and  confronting  a  gigantic 
iance-spesade,  "order  your  arms!"  and  the  man,  over 
awed  by  his  demeanor,  slowly  and  sulkily  obeyed. 
"  Shame !  shame  ! "  cried  several  voices  from  the  rear ; 
uthou  braggart,  that  wouldst  do  so  much,  to  shrink  at 
the  first  word !  " 

"  Silence  there  in  the  ranks ! "  Oliver  cried,  fiercely, 
and  at  his  word  again  the  murmurs  ceased ;  but,  brief 
and  trivial  as  they  were,  those  murmurs  had  yet  roused 
anew  a  spirit  of  resistance  in  the  bosom  of  the  half-terri 
fied  ringleader.  Silent  he  stood  indeed,  but  his  mouth 
worked  convulsively,  a  red  flush  overspread  his  counte 
nance,  and  his  hand  quivered  as  it  grasped  the  barrel  of 
his  musket. 

"  Soh !  thou  art  then  a  soldier,"  continued  Cromwell,  once 
more  confronting  the  delinquent.  "  Now,  then,  pull  forth 
that  rascal  riband  from  thy  cap !  Cast  it,  I  say,  into  the 
dust,  and  set  thy  foot  upon  it !  " 

The  man  spoke  not,  but  bit  his  lip  till  the  blood  spirted 
forth,  moving,  however,  no  limb  or  muscle  of  his  body, 
whether  to  execute  or  to  resist  his  officer's  command. 

"  Do  as  I  bid  thee,  dog  !  "  and  with  a  flash  of  furious 
and  ungovernable  ire  lighting  up  every  feature  of  his  face, 
Cromwell  stamped  his  heel  on  the  turf  as  though  he  was 
in  act  of  trampling  down  a  living  foeman. 

"N"o  dog  of  thine,  at  least,"  answered  the  fellow; 
"  though,  if  thou  hadst  the  will,  ah1  Englishmen  would  be 
as  slaves  and  dogs  beneath  thee." 

"  Ha !  this  to  me  !  "  and,  seizing  the  gigantic  trooper 
by  the  throat,  he  shook  him  to  and  fro  as  though  he  were 
an  infant,  and  cast  him,  almost,  as  it  seemed,  without  an 
effort,  to  the  earth  behind  him.  "  Seize  him,  guards,  ho ! 
Ye  answer  for  him  with  your  lives.  He  is  a  ringleader ; 
and,  as  the  Lord  of  earth  and  heaven  liveth,  verily  he 
shall  die  the  death ! "  and,  as  he  spoke,  his  handful  of  as 
sistants  dragged  off  the  prisoner,  struggling  and  shouting 
for  a  rescue,  and  placed  him  in  security  among  their 
mounted  comrades.  But,  quickly  as  they  did  his  bid 
ding,  yet  quicker  was  the  movement  of  the  captive's 
right-hand  man  to  succor  or  avenge  him,  who,  at  the 
O  22 


328  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

very  point  of  time  when  Cromwell  seized  the  lance- 
spesade,  levelled  his  harquebuss  right  at  his  head,  within 
six  feet.  Arden  dashed  forward,  sword  in  hand,  followed 
by  six  or  eight  of  his  most  active  men,  while  his  lieuten 
ant  shouted  to  the  horsemen  in  the  rear  to  charge  !  Yet, 
had  their  aid  been  needed,  the  career  of  Oliver  had  been 
concluded  on  that  day  in  a  poor,  paltry  riot — but  it  was 
not  needed !  for,  in  the  very  act  of  capturing  the  one, 
that  keen-eyed  and  quick-witted  leader  observed  the  mo 
tion  of  the  other  mutineer  !  Before  the  heavy  din,  with 
which  the  armor  of  the  first  clanged  as  he  fell,  was  ended, 
his  broadsword  gleamed  aloft  in  the  bright  sunshine  — 
down  it  came  whistling  through  the  air  —  down,  like  a 
flash  of  lightning,  and,  with  his  scull  cleft  through  his 
head-piece  to  the  chin,  the  second  plunged  head  fore 
most,  a  dead  man  ere  he  touched  the  earth,  his  harque 
buss  discharged,  though  harmlessly,  by  the  convulsed 
and  quivering  fingers  alter  the  life  had  left  the  body. 

He  paused  not  for  a  second's  space  to  suffer  them  to 
rally  or  recover  from  the  consternation  which  had  fallen 
on  them  with  all  the  chilling  influence  of  a  panic  terror.., 
but,  "Charge!"  he  shouted,  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
"  charge  the  rebellious  dogs.  Kill !  kill !  spare  none  who 
dare  resist !  "  and,  with  the  word,  Arden  rushed  in,  and 
faithfully  his  gallant  men  requited  the  trust  placed  in 
their  allegiance.  Firmly,  as  though  they  had  outnum 
bered  their  opponents,  that  little  handful  dashed  into  the 
breach  which  Cromwell5^  energy  had  made  already  in  the 
rebellious  ranks ;  and  at  a  full  trot,  with  their  rapiers 
leveled  to  the  charge,,  up  swept  the  horsemen.  But  the 
fall  of  their  ringleaders,  and  the  undaunted  bearing  of 
their  officers,  were  too  niueh  for  their  nerves ;  and,  ere 
the  guard  was  on  them,  their  musket-buts  rang  heavily 
as  they  were  ordered  simultaneously,  and  the  obnoxious 
badges,  torn  with  quick  hands  from  every  head-piece^ 
fluttered  on  all  sides  in  the  air,  or  strewed  the  turf  before 
their  feet. 

"Halt!  ho!  halt,  Colonel  Arden!"  shouted  Oliver, 
perceiving  instantly  and  profiting  by  his  advantage ;  but 
scarcely  was  his  second  cry  in  time ;  for,  though  they 
curbed  their  chargers  as  the  word  reached  their  earSj  the 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  329 

cavalry  stopped  not  until  their  horses'  chests  were  close 
upon  their  wavering  ranks,  and  their  long  rapiers  waving 
over  their  heads.  "Draw  off  your  horse,  Major  Win- 
throp,"  he  continued ;  "  advance  six  files  dismounted  — 
arrest  each  tenth  man  of  the  lance-spesades  through  this 
battalion.  Verily  they  shall  learn,  and  that  right  speed 
ily,  what  be  the  fruits  of  mutiny.  Officers  to  the  front ; 
call  a  drum-head  court-martial ! "  Not  a  man  stirred, 
and  not  a  weapon  was  advanced,  as,  one  by  one,  the  de 
cimated  prisoners  were  arrested.  Before  ten  minutes 
had  passed  over,  ten  or  a  dozen  officers  assembled  to  per 
form  the  saddest  and  most  painful  duty  that  ever  falls 
even  to  a  soldier's  lot.  The  crime  had  been  too  flagrant ; 
the  proof  too  evident ;  the  peril  too  immediate,  to  admit 
of  lenity ;  and,  without  one  dissenting  voice,  the  fatal 
sentence  was  pronounced  on  all  the  wretched  criminals, 
some  five  or  six  in  number,  who,  now  disarmed  and 
bound,  stood  waiting  the  award  in  speechless  agony. 

"  A  file  for  execution  !  "  Oliver  exclaimed,  in  his  most 
harsh  and  grating  tones ;  "  draw  out  a  file  for  execution 
from  that  same  regiment !  Lead  forth  that  fellow  whom 
I  seized  myself;  he  was  the  very  foremost  of  them  all, 
and  may  not  hope  for  mercy !  This  grace  will  I  accord 
the  rest — they  shall  cast  lots  among  them ;  but  one  must 
expiate  his  sins,  before  his  country  and  his  God,  ere  the 
world  be  ten  minutes  older ;  and  may  the  Lord  have 
mercy  on  their  souls !  The  rest  will  I  refer  unto  the 
parliament." 

The  lots  were  speedily  prepared ;  and,  with  an  air  of 
the  most  agonizing  terror,  anxiety,  and  hope,  and  fear 
blended  into  a  fierce  excitement,  which  it  was  truly  aw 
ful  even  to  look  upon,  the  miserable  wretches  plunged 
their  hands  into  the  helmet  which  contained  the  scraps 
of  paper  on  which  their  lives  depended.  It  was  a  mo 
ment  of  intense  and  shuddering  pain,  even  to  those  who, 
in  comparative  indifference,  were  mere  spectators  of  the 
scene ;  what  must  it  then  have  been  to  those,  of  whom 
one  certainly  was  destined  to  be  sent  from  the  fair  face 
of  the  bright,  laughing  earth,  unhouseled  and  unshriven, 
into  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  with  scarce  a  moment 


330  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

even  to  prepare  the  spirit  for  endurance  of  the  fearful 
shock  which  should  disjoin  it  from  the  body. 

The  lottery  of  death  was  ended.  The  soldier,  whose 
hard  fate  had  been  thus  chance-decided,  was  a  small,  del 
icate,  pale-looking  man  ;  of  a  weak  frame,  and  a  counte 
nance  eifeminate,  and  betokening  anything  save  energy 
of  mind  or  resolution.  Yet  was  this  frail  and  nerveless 
being  perfectly  cool  and  self-collected;  while  his  com 
panion,  taken  in  the  very  act,  limbed  like  a  Hercules, 
with  high,  bold  features  and  a  brilliant  eye,  a  man  who 
would  have  ridden  fearlessly,  although  alone,  upon  a 
stand  of  levelled  pikes,  or  rushed  upon  a  cannon's  mouth 
just  as  the  linstock  was  applied;  shook  like  an  aspen 
leaf  through  all  his  powerful  frame ;  his  brow,  his  cheek, 
his  lip,  grew  white  as  ashes  ;  his  eye  was  dim  and  sense 
less  ;  he  sobbed,  he  wept  aloud,  struggling  violently  with 
the  troopers  who  conducted  him  to  his  last  stand  on 
earth,  and  yelling  phrensiedly  for  mercy.  With  an  air 
perfectly  composed  and  fearless,  the  other  threw  aside 
his  cassock  and  his  vest,  unbound  the  kerchief  from  his 
neck,  giving  it  as  a  token  to  a  favorite  fellow-soldier,  and 
having,  in  a  clear,  unfaltering  voice,  confessed  the  justice 
of  his  sentence,  and  exhorted  his  companions  to  take 
warning  from  his  fate,  he  bowed  respectfully  to  those 
who  had  condemned  him,  and  stepped  as  lightly  to  the 
place  of  execution  as  though  it  were  his  choice  to  die. 
There  they  stood,  side  by  side,  full  of  strong  health,  and 
intellect,  and  life,  and  passion,  in  one  short  moment  to  be 
mere  clods  of  soulless  and  unconscious  clay ;  and  there, 
with  their  death-weapons  levelled,  paler  themselves  and 
far  more  agitated  than  even  those  on  whom  they  were  to 
do  the  work  of  blood,  the  firing  party,  chosen  from  the 
ranks  of  the  same  regiment,  composed,  perhaps,  of  mess 
mates,  of  familiar  friends,  of  proved  associates  in  many  a 
scene  of  peril  and  of  glory,  perhaps  of  comrades,  plotters, 
instigators  to  the  very  crime  which  they  were  destined  to 
avenge,  their  friends  to  expiate,  their  partners,  without 
doubt,  in  this  last  fatal  deed  of  guilt,  and  now  their  ex 
ecutioners  ! 

The  regiments  were  drawn  up  forming  three  sides  of  a 
great  hollow  square,  the  criminals  upon  the  fourth,  the 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  331 

executioners  already  facing  them  at  scarce  ten  paces  dis 
tant.  There  was  not  a  voice,  a  sigh,  a  movement  in  that 
mighty  concourse ;  not  a  weapon  clashed,  not  a  foot 
rustled  on  the  earth.  But  the  sun  shone  in  glorious 
beauty  upon  the  burnished  pike-heads  and  the  waving 
standards ;  and  the  whole  earth  looked  gay  and  smiling, 
more  gay,  more  smiling,  as  it  seemed  to  the  poor  crimi 
nals,  than  ever  it  had  been  before.  A  short,  extempora 
neous  prayer  was  uttered  by  the  captain  of  their  own 
battalion ;  a  sad  and  doleful  hymn  was  chanted  by  the 
now  penitent  and  terrified  assemblage,  with  a  sound  in 
expressibly  and  strangely  mournful.  The  fatal  word  was 
given !  a  bright  flash,  and  a  sharp  report  as  of  a  single 
piece !  and,  when  the  smoke  cleared  off,  there  lay  the 
bodies  on  the  sod,  lifeless  and  motionless,  their  sins  and 
sorrows  thus  simultaneously  and  suddenly  concluded. 
There  was  no  need  of  more  severity ;  and  the  quick  eye 
of  Cromwell  saw  it.  With  the  yet  warm  and  palpitating 
bodies  in  full  view,  he  read  aloud  the  general's  message, 
the  soldiery  listening  to  every  word  with  a  respectful  and 
sincere  attention,  that  denoted  all  the  force  of  the  exam 
ple  they  had  witnessed.  As  he  concluded,  every  regi- 
iment  presented,  and  then  ordered  arms ;  the  adjutators 
humbly  advanced  from  the  crest-fallen  ranks,  and  with  a 
deferential  air  expressed  their  complete  satisfaction  at  the 
lord-general's  exposition,  their  sense  of  their  own  past 
misconduct,  and  their  gratitude  to  Cromwell  for  the 
mercy  he  had  shown  them,  in  taking  but  two  lives  where 
all  so  righteously  were  forfeit. 

After  a  few  more  words  of  reprimand,  blended  with 
commendations  of  their  former  services,  and  exhortations 
never  to  oifend  in  the  like  sort  hereafter,  Oliver,  whose 
point  was  amply  gained,  dismissed  the  soldiers ;  and  the 
bands  striking  up  in  the  impressive  notes  of  a  dead  march, 
with  colors  trailed  and  arms  reversed,  they  filed  oif  to 
their  several  quarters,  well  convinced  now  that,  howso 
ever  their  commanders  might  connive  at  disobedience  to 
the  parliament,  they  would  in  no  sort  tolerate  or  wink  at 
the  most  trivial  mutiny  against  their  own  authority.  In 
fact,  by  his  undaunted  resolution  in  suppressing,  and  his 
inflexible  severity  in  punishing  the  present  disaffection, 


332  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

joined  to  the  partial  lenity  he  had  extended  to  his  pris 
oners,  Cromwell  had  more  than  regained  all  that  he  had 
temporarily  lost  in  the  opinions  of  the  army.  Never, 
perhaps,  at  any  previous  time  had  he  stood  higher  in 
power,  or  possessed  more  fully  the  respect  and  admira 
tion,  not  unmixed  with  wholesome  fear,  of  those  whom 
he  commanded,  than  at  the  present  moment. 

The  next  night,  in  the  most  magnificent  of  England's 
palaces,  in  the  great  hall  of  Windsor  Castle,  the  officers 
of  that  victorious  army,  which  had  not.  merely  con 
quered,  but  annihilated,  the  high  faction  of  the  cavaliers; 
defeated  the  intrigues  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians,  seen 
through  and  cut  asunder — if  they  had  not  disentangled — • 
the  gordian  knot  of  parliamentary  chicane,  assembled  in 
most  solemn  but  most  secret  council. 

There,  actuated  by  a  single  spirit,  and  speaking,  as  it 
were,  all  with  one  common  voice,  which  they  asserted, 
and  perhaps  believed,  such  is  the  force  of  the  heart's  self- 
deception,  to  be  a  direct  proof  that  HE — whom  they  had 
sought  so  long  in  prayer,  earnestly  dealing  with  him  that 
he  should  let  that  cup  pass  from  them  —  had  put  the 
counsel  by  immediate  inspiration  into  their  hearts — those 
stern  religionists  determined  that,  as  a  traitor,  murderer, 
and  tyrant,  Charles  Stuart  should  be  arraigned,  and 
brought  to  answer  for  his  deeds  before  the  high  court  of 
the  nation  in  parliament  assembled. 

It  was  remarked  even  then,  and  deeply  pondered  on 
in  after  days,  as  something  singular  and  strange,  by  Ar- 
den,  who  was  not  present  at  the  council,  having  remained 
in  London  on  his  return  from  Ware,  but  who  was  in 
stantly  apprised  of  the  proceedings — that,  neither  before 
that  assemblage,  nor  publicly  at  any  other  time,  did  Oli 
ver  urge  on  or  advocate,  with  his  accustomed  fervor,  the 
measure  which,  as  Sir  Edgar  knew  full  well,  he  had  long 
since  determined  on  within  his  secret  heart. 

It  seemed  as  though  he  did  not  choose  himself  to  stir 
at  all  in  that  w^hich  had  been  mooted  by  the  common  sol 
diery  in  the  first  instance,  and  advanced  by  insubordina 
tion  verging  on  open  mutiny.  Rather,  perhaps,  seeing 
that,  without  his  personal  cooperation  in  the  matter,  all 
things  were  tending  to  the  result  which  he  believed  the 


A  MUTINY  SUPPRESSED.  333 

best,  he  was  content  to  lend  them  the  mere  negative  sup 
port  afforded  by  his  presence  at  deliberations,  which  he 
did  not  oppose  or  hinder,  wisely  reserving  his  great  en 
ergies  for  the  accomplishment  of  those  great  ends  which 
could  not  be  wrought  to  maturity  without  them ;  and 
holding  himself,  like  the  gods  of  the  Grecian  drama, 
aloof  from  matters  which  afforded  no  due  scope  for  his 
unconquerable  powers  —  from  plots  which  could  as  well 
be  disentangled  and  wound  smoothly  out  by  those,  who 
had,  perhaps,  imbibed  his  own  opinions,  and  were  uncon 
sciously —  while  fancying  themselves  free  and  untram 
melled  agents — the  mere  tools  and  instruments  of  his  su 
perior  intellect. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JUDGMENT    OB    THE    KNIFE? 


"LET  us  be  sacrificers,  but  not  butchers,  Caius. 
We  all  stand  up  against  the  spirit  of  Caesar, 
And  in  the  spirit  of  men  there  is  no  blood; 
Oh  that  we,  then,  could  come  by  Caesar's  spirit, 
And  not  dismember  (Jaesar.    But,  alas ! 
Caesar  must  bleed  for  it     And,  gentle  friends, 
Let's  kill  him  boldly,  but  not  wrathfully. 
Let's  carve  him  as  a  dish  fit  for  the  gods, 
Not  hew  him  as  a  carcass  fit  for  hounds." 

JULIUS  C^ESAB. 

THE  indignation  of  the  parliament,  who,  after  the  re 
treat  of  the  eleven  impeached  members,  had  more  and 
more  come  into  the  strong  measures  of  the  army,  was 
fearfully  inflamed  by  the  king's  absolute  refusal  of  the 
four  acts ;  so  much  so  that  a  bill  was  passed  forbidding 
all  addresses  for  the  future  to  Charles  Stuart,  and  all  re 
newal  of  negotiations  with  him  for  a  settlement,  though 
not  till  after  two  or  three  debates,  in  which  the  military 
leaders,  and,  above  all,  the  lieutenant-general,  took  active 
part. 


334  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

The  last,  indeed,  on  one  occasion,  ended  a  long  and 
strenuous  harangue  by  raising  his  voice  to  its  highest 
pitch  with  these  emphatic  words,  "  Teach  not  the  army, 
by  neglecting  your  own  safety  and  that  of  the  kingdom, 
by  which  theirs  also  is  involved,  to  deem  themselves  be 
trayed,  and  their  best  interests  abandoned  to  the  rage  of 
an  irreconcilable  enemy,  whom,  for  your  sake,  they  have 
dared  to  provoke.  Beware" — and,  as  he  spoke,  he  laid 
his  hand  upon  his  rapier's  hilt  —  "  beware,  lest  their  des 
pair  cause  them  to  seek  safety  by  some  other  means  than 
by  adhering  to  you,  who  know  not  to  consult  for  your 
own  safety." 

And  now,  although  the  peril  from  the  army's  insubor 
dination  had  subsided,  not  a  day  passed  without  some 
riotous  commotion,  indicative  of  the  divided  state  of 
public  feeling.  Continual  tumults  between  the  London 
mob,  now  become  once  more  loyal  to  the  king,  and  the 
detachments  of  the  veterans  quartered  in  the  metropolis, 
were  not  suppressed  without  some  bloodshed.  These,  in 
the  early  spring,  were  followed  by  a  general  movement 
of  the  royalists  throughout  the  kingdom,  which,  had  it  been 
planned  with  as  much  of  concert  and  of  wisdom  as  it  was 
executed  with  high  bravery  and  spirit,  would  have  caused 
much  perplexity  to  those  in  power. 

As  it  was,  however,  so  ill-timed  and  unpremeditated 
were  the  risings  of  the  cavaliers,  that  they  were  easily 
subdued  in  detail,  although  their  numbers,  if  united, 
would  have  been  truly  formidable,  and  although  they 
fought,  as  individual  bodies,  with  all  the  resolution  of 
despair,  and  in  no  case  were  vanquished  without  loss  and 
difficulty  by  the  Independent  army.  The  men  of  Kent 
were  beaten,  after  a  hard-fought  and  well-disputed  battle, 
at  Maidstone,  by  the  lord-general  in  person ;  the  royalists 
of  Wales,  under  the  gallant  Colonel  Poyer,  were  defeated, 
and  Pembroke,  into  which  they  had  retired,  taken  by 
Cromwell  after  a  six  weeks'  siege.  This  exploit  over,  that 
indefatigable  leader  hurried  northward  with  all  his  wont 
ed  energy  of  movement,  came  on  the  Scottish  army,  now 
united  with  the  northern  cavaliers  of  Langdale,  at  Pres 
ton  on  the  Ribble ;  and,  though  with  forces  vastly  inferior, 
hesitated  not  to  give  them  battle.  Having  defeated  them 


JUDGMENT  OR  THE  KNIFE?  335 

so  utterly  that  their  army  was,  in  truth,  wholly  disorgan 
ized  and  scattered,  he  pursued  them  closely  into  Scotland, 
where  he  compelled  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh,  deeply 
averse  and  hostile  to  his  party,  to  put  down  the  royalists, 
and  to  replace  the  power  of  the  state  in  Argyle's  hands, 
who  had  now  joined  the  Independent  faction  with  his 
whole  heart  and  spirit. 

While  there,  the  Earl  ofLeven  and  Sir  David  Lesley  so 
totally  disclaimed  the  covenant  as  to  cannonade  the  roy 
alist  troops  from  the  castle,  and  to  agree,  at  a  convention 
held  in  my  Lady  Home's  house  in  the  Canongate,  with 
Oliver,  that  there  was  a  necessity,  now  fully  obvious,  for 
taking  the  king's  life.  Meanwhile  Lord  Goring,  who  had 
advanced  to  Blackheath,  hoping  that  by  his  presence  Lon 
don  would  be  encouraged  into  action,  being  checked  by 
Fairfax,  shut  himself  up  in  Colchester  ;  but,  after  a  long 
and  vigorous  defense,  was  forced,  when  all  was  over,  to 
surrender  at  discretion  ;  and  had  the  farther  misery  of 
seeing  two  of  his  bravest  officers,  Sir  George  Lisle  and 
Sir  Charles  Lucas,  shot  by  the  conquerors  as  rebels — a 
rigorous  and  cruel  exercise  of  power,  for  which  the  gen 
eral  did  not  escape  much  obloquy,  although  it  was  alleged 
in  his  defense,  and  probably  with  truth,  that  he  was  insti 
gated  to  such  unwonted  harshness  solely  by  the  sugges 
tions  of  the  fierce  and  unrelenting  Ireton. 

This  absolute  suppression  of  the  king's  friends  by  land 
was  poorly  compensated  by  the  defection  of  the  navy ; 
Rainsborough,  its  commander  for  the  parliament,  having 
been  set  on  shore  by  his  rebellious  crews,  who  bore  away 
for  Holland,  and,  casting  anchor  at  the  Brill,  after  a  short 
time  took  on  board  the  Prince  of  Wales,  accompanied  by 
Rupert,  as  their  admiral ;  not  in  compliance  with  the 
wishes  of  the  queen,  who  would  have  lavished  that  high 
dignity  on  her  unworthy  paramour,  Lord  Jermyn. 

About  the  same  time  the  young  Duke  of  York,  after 
ward  James  the  Second,  by  the  assistance  and  the  skill 
of  Colonel  Bamfield,  made  good  his  flight  from  London, 
and  reached  the  Netherlands  in  safety.  And  now,  beyond 
all  doubt,  was  the  atrocious  infidelity  and  wickedness  of 
Henrietta  proved,  who — although  the  revolted  fleet  had 
full  and  undisputed  mastery  of  the  channel,  and  might, 


336  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

with  ease  and  certainty,  have  forcibly  delivered  Charles 
from  the  hard  durance  in  which  he  was  now  held,  after  an 
unsuccessful  effort  to  break  forth  at  Carisbrook — pre 
vailed  upon  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  waste  his  time  in  friv 
olous  and  useless  enterprises  up  the  Thames  and  on  the 
coasts,  until  the  parliament  had  fitted  out  another  fleet 
under  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  when,  after  what  a  seaman 
would  term  lubberly  maneuvering,  he  sailed  toward  Hol 
land,  closely  pursued  by  Warwick's  navy,  and  never  per 
formed  any  action  serviceable  to  his  unhappy  father's 
cause  or  creditable  to  his  own  fame. 

During  the  progress  of  the  futile  struggle,  which  had 
terminated  in  rendering  obvious  to  all  the  hopelessness  of 
any  effort  at  armed  interposition  for  the  king,  the  parlia 
ment,  while  Cromwell  was  in  Scotland,  had  held  fresh  ne 
gotiations  at  Newport,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  with  Charles, 
who,  to  the  last,  despite  the  urgent  prayers  both  of  his 
friends  and  the  more  moderate  of  his  opponents,  refused 
compliance  with  the  conditions  offered,  though  he  must 
now  have  apprehended  this  to  be  the  only  means  by 
which  he  could  retain  possession  of  his  crown.  The  tem 
per  of  the  commons,  after  receiving  tidings  of  the  king's 
unconquered  obstinacy,  evinced  by  the  distaste  of  the 
majority  toward  an  angry  speech  of  Vane,  so  much 
alarmed  the  leaders  of  the  army,  that,  finding  Hammond 
more  disposed  toward  the  parliament  than  they  had  hoped, 
they  caused  by  stratagem  the  custody  of  the  king's  per 
son  to  be  transferred  to  Colonel  Ewre,  a  man  entirely  in 
their  interests,  and  ordered  him  to  be  removed  at  once 
to  the  strong  solitary  fortress  of  Hurst  Castle,  on  the 
coast  of  Hampshire. 

A  letter  from  the  commons  to  the  general,  demanding 
instant  restitution  of  the  royal  person  to  his  former  guard 
ian  and  abode,  was  answered  by  a  demand  for  payment 
of  arrears  due  to  the  army,  and,  after  a  few  days,  by  the 
march  of  the  most  zealous  and  enthusiastic  regiments  to 
London ;  where  the  general  took  up  his  quarters  at  White 
hall,  and  other  officers  with  their  detachments  at  Durham 
House,  the  King's  Mews,  Covent  Garden,  Westminster, 
and  St.  James's  Palace.  Still,  undeterred  by  this  bold 
step,  the  Presbyterian  party,  after  a  violent  debate,  car- 


JUDGMENT  Oil  THE  KNIFE  ?  337 

ried  it,  by  a  majority  of  thirty-six  against  the  Indepen 
dents  and  the  army  faction,  that  "  the  king's  answer  was 
a  ground,  upon  which  for  the  houses  to  proceed  for  the 
settlement  of  the  peace  of  the  kingdom." 

A  resolution  which,  had  it  been  brought  into  force, 
would  have  effectually  undone  all  that  had  been  effected 
by  the  long  and  bloody  strife  which  had  preceded  it,  and 
left  the  king  as  powerful  for  good  or  evil  as  he  had  been 
at  its  commencement,  provided  he  should,  as  his  true 
policy  would  dictate,  hold  to  the  friendship  of  the  parlia 
ment.  That  afternoon  a  large  committee  of  the  commons 
waited  upon  the  general  at  his  lodgings  of  Whitehall,  but 
met  from  him  only  a  supercilious  and  cold  welcome,  and 
no  satisfaction.  The  following  morning,  when  the  mem 
bers  went  to  take  their  seats,  a  guard  of  musketeers  was 
at  the  doors,  headed  by  Colonel  Pride  and  the  Lord  Grey 
of  Groby,  who  held  a  list  of  those  who  should  not  be  per 
mitted  to  go  into  the  debate,  and  these  were  kept  three 
days  in  custody  in  different  inns  of  court,  while  the  re 
mainder  of  the  house,  called  afterward  by  royalists  "  the 
Rump,"  voted  that  the  king's  answer  to  the  propositions 
was  not  satisfactory. 

Sir  Edgar,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  late  tumults,  had 
served  with  Fairfax,  and,  after  the  surrender  of  Colches 
ter,  had  resigned  his  commission,  disgusted  by  the  fate 
of  Lisle  and  Lucas.  Meanwhile,  however,  he  had  been 
reflected  to  the  house,  the  Presbyterians  considering  his 
departure  from  the  army  as  an  earnest  of  his  accession  to 
their  party,  while  the  Independents,  wiser  in  this  than 
their  antagonists,  foresaw  that,  howsoever  he  might  dis 
approve  their  violence,  he  would,  at  the  least,  never  join 
their  enemies.  On  this  account,  then,  he  was  suffered  by 
the  soldiers  to  assume  his  seat,  his  name  not  being  on  the 
list  of  those  excluded.  The  first  step  which  he  took  was 
to  move  instantly  for  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the 
present  outrage,  and  though,  when  overruled  in  this  by  a 
majority  of  those  remaining  in  the  house,  he  coincided 
with  the  opinion  that  the  king's  answer  was  unsatisfac 
tory,  he  refused  peremptorily  to  give  any  vote  on  the  oc 
casion.  Then,  after  several  vain  attempts  to  find  out  the 
devisers  of  the  violence,  Fairfax  denying  any  knowledge 
O  22 


338  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  it,  and  the  guards  merely  stating  that  they  had  their 
orders,  he  at  the  first  resolved  to  vacate  his  seat  once 
again ;  but,  after  much  reflection,  held  it  the  manlier  and 
more  upright  course  still  to  continue  in  the  house,  oppos 
ing,  to  the  best  of  his  abilities,  all  inroads  on  the  liberties 
of  Englishmen,  in  their  most  delicate  and  dearest  point, 
the  privilege  of  parliament. 

Just  at  this  juncture,  indeed,  upon  the  very  evening  of 
the  day  which  had  been  signalized  by  the  exclusion  of  the 
Presbyterian  members,  Cromwell  returned  from  Scotland, 
and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  king's  palace  of  Whitehall. 
To  him,  indeed,  Arden's  suspicions  had  first  pointed  as 
the  real  mover  of  this  outrageous  measure ;  yet,  on  his 
charging  it  directly  to  him,  he  answered  with  so  much  of 
ready  frankness,  that  "  he  had  not  been  acquainted  with 
the  design,  yet,  since  it  was  done,  he  was  glad  of  it,  and 
would  endeavor  to  maintain  it,"  and  asked  so  warmly  for 
his  presence  and  advice  at  a  council  to  be  held  that  eve 
ning  in  the  house  of  Ludlow,  that  he  succeeded  almost 
in  convincing  him  that  his  suspicions  were  unfounded. 

An  early  hour  of  the  evening  found  Sir  Edgar  at  the 
place  appointed,  where  he  was  shown  into  a  large  well- 
lighted  chamber,  filled  with  about  two  score  of  gentlemen, 
for  the  most  part  the  leaders  of  the  army  ;  among  whom, 
at  the  first  glance,  he  recognized  Ireton,  Harrison,  and 
Lilburne,  afterward  nicknamed  Trouble-world,  with  Hack 
er,  Hutchinson  resembling  a  cavalier  in  his  rich  dress  and 
flowing  hair,  and  some  of  the  most  eminent  civilians,  Sir 
Harry  Vane  the  younger,  and  some  few  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  party,  besides  the  master  of  the  house,  and  Crom 
well,  who  sat  aloof,  as  it  would  seem,  engrossed  in  weighty 
meditations.  Fairfax  was  not  among  them.  When  Sir 
Edgar  entered,  Harrison  was  declaiming  with  much  vehe 
mence,  as  well  of  gesture  as  of  speech,  and  not  without  a 
species  of  wild  eloquence,  against  all  forms  of  monarchy, 
which  he  asserted  neither  to  be  "  good  in  itself,  nor  yet 
good  for  the  people,"  quoting  the  whole  eighth  chapter 
of  the  first  book  of  Samuel,  and  arguing  therefrom  "  that 
to  be  governed  by  a  king  was  in  itself  displeasing  to  the 
King  and  Monarch  of  the  universe,  and  absolutely  sinful ; 
for  that  the  Lord  himself  bade  Samuel  '  yet  solemnly  pro- 


JUDGMENT  OR  THE  KXIFE  ?  339 

test  unto  them,  and  show  the  manner  of  the  king  that 
should  reign  over  them ; '  and  afterward  foretold  to  them 
'  that  ye  shall  cry  out  in  that  day,  because  of  the  king  ye 
have  chosen  you,  and  the  Lord  shall  not  hear  you  in  that 
day.'  Wherefore,"  he  added,  "  let  us  put  away  from  us 
this  sin,  and  this  abomination  ;  let  us  wash  from  our  hands 
the  stain  of  this  iniquity ;  yea !  let  us  cleanse  ourselves 
with  myrrh,  with  aloes,  and  with  hyssop,  ay,  and  with 
blood — even  the  blood  of  sacrifice ! — from  this  oifense 
which  stinketh  in  the  nostrils  of  Jehovah !  And  let  this 
man — the  firebrand  of  civil  conflagration;  the  drawer  of 
the  slaughtering  sword  against  his  people,  the  slayer  of 
our  brethren  and  our  sons,  the  spoiler  of  our  vineyards 
and  our  oliveyards,  this  faithless  gentleman  and  perjured 
prince,  this  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer,  Charles  Stuart,  let 
him  be  driven  out,  even  as  the  scapegoat  sent  into  the 
wilderness  to  bear  away  the  sins  and  sufferings  of  the 
people ;  let  him  be  cut  off  utterly,  and  cast  upon  the 
dunghill,  and  let  the  dogs  lick  his  blood,  as  they  licked 
that  of  Ahab,  when  the  Lord  smote  him  by  the  arrow  of 
the  Syrian,  smote  him  at  Ramoth  Gilead  that  he  died ; 
and  let  his  name  be  never  named  in  Israel  from  thence 
forth  ever  more !  So  let  it  be  with  him,  and  let  the 
people  cry  amen  !  " 

To  Harrison  succeeded  Ireton,  and  Ludlow  after  him, 
both  urging  the  expediency  of  the  king's  death  no  less 
strongly  than  its  justice,  descanting  loudly  on  the  faith 
lessness  which  he  had  shown  in  all  his  previous  dealings, 
"  his  often  protestations  and  engagements  in  the  name  of 
king  and  gentleman  which  he  hath  so  often  violated ; " 
and  the  small  probability  that  any  new  bond  or  restraint 
of  conscience  should  now  be  found  to  fetter  one,  whom 
neither  his  own  coronation  oath  nor  the  laws  which  he  had 
sworn  to  honor,  uphold,  and  obey,  could  hinder  from  en 
deavoring  to  subvert  his  country's  constitution,  and  build 
an  autocratic  throne  upon  the  ruin  of  his  people's  freedom. 

When  these  had  finished  speaking,  Sir  Edgar  calmly 
but  impressively  addressed  them,  beseeching  them  to  pon 
der  deeply  and  pause  long,  ere  they  should  take  a  step 
irrevocable,  and,  if  it  should  prove  evil,  irretrievable  and 
ruinous.  Admitting,  as  fully  as  the  warmest  advocates 


340  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

for  the  king's  death,  his  guilt  in  aiming  at  supreme  un 
constitutional  dominion ;  his  guilt  in  plunging  the  whole 
population  intrusted  to  his  care,  even  as  children  to  a 
father's  charge,  into  the  misery  of  civil  slaughter,  merely 
to  gratify  his  own  ambition ;  his  guilt  in  violating  every 
covenant  and  compact  he  had  made ;  owning  the  utter 
hopelessness  of  any  effort  to  establish  peace  while  he 
should  be  within  the  realm,  in  how  close  custody  soever ; 
the  folly  of  imagining  that  England's  liberties  could  be  in 
safety  while  he  should  hold  the  reins  of  government,  how 
limited  soever  in  his  sway ;  declaring  that  he  believed 
him  in  all  justice  to  be  guilty  even  unto  death — "  I  yet 
conjure  you,"  he  exclaimed,  "  to  pause  before  you  shed 
his  blood  !  If  you  depose  him  from  the  throne,  and  ban 
ish  him  the  realm,  you  will  gain  all  advantage  that  his 
death  could  give  you,  and  more  also ! — you  will  disarm 
the  tongues  of  those  who  would  cry  out  against  his  exe 
cution,  as  against  a  sacrilegious  and  accursed  parricide, 
and  fill  the  very  mouths  that  would  be  open  to  revile  you, 
with  praises  of  your  clemency  and  grace.  You  will  de 
prive  him  wholly  of  the  means  to  do  you  evil,  and  you 
will  have  this  farther  safeguard,  that,  while  he  lives,  no 
other  can  lay  claim  to  England's  crown,  whereas,  once 
dead,  his  son  will  instantly  succeed  to  all  his  father's 
rights,  and  more  than  all  his  father's  influence  on  the 
minds  of  men  maddened  with  loyal  sorrow  and  athirst  for 
vengeance.  It  was  a  wise  and  politic  saw  of  the  old  Ro 
mans,  'to  spare  the  subject  and  subdue  the  proud!' 

"To  slay  Charles  Stuart  is  but  to  elevate  a  bad  king  to 
an  honored  martyr  !  to  depose  and  banish  him  is  to  de 
grade  him  from  a  suffering  prince  into  a  scorned  and  ab 
ject  beggar!  Men  will  compassionate,  and  honor,  ay! 
and  bleed  for  royalty  in  chains,  when  they  but  jeer  and 
scoff  at  royalty  in  tatters !  Banish  this  man,  and  he  may 
wander  forth  from  court  to  court  of  Europe ;  he  may  be 
treated  with  mock  deference,  may  be  styled  king  and 
brother,  and  pensioned  with  the  crumbs  that  fall  from 
royal  tables;  but  'twill  be  hollow  all  and  insincere! 
Scorned  and  despised,  he  will  drag  out  a  life  held  by  your 
sufferance,  weary  and  painful  to  himself,  and  innocent  to 
you  even  of  momentary  cause  for  apprehension  ! 


JUDGMENT  OR  THE  KNIFE  ?  341 

"  Slay  him,  and  you  will  buckle  harness  on  the  back  of 
each  legitimate  hereditary  prince  of  Christendom  against 
you ! — you  will  concentrate  and  renerve  the  partisans  of 
royalty  now  scattered,  hopeless,  and  undone ! — you  will 
enkindle  a  consuming  flame,  which,  though  for  a  brief 
space  it  may  smoulder  or  burn  dimly,  shall  yet  wax  hour 
ly  more  broad,  and  bright,  and  high,  till  it  shall  soar  in 
triumph  over  the  liberties  of  England,  shrivelled  again, 
and  blasted,  perchance,  never  to  revive." 

His  views,  shrewd  and  far-sighted  as  they  were,  and 
couched  in  language  bold  and  perspicuous,  produced  a 
great  effect  on  the  more  moderate  of  either  party,  and 
he  was  followed  by  several  of  the  Presbyterians  on  the 
same  side,  and  even  by  one  or  two  of  the  milder  officers ; 
but  the  more  zealous  held  to  their  opinions,  and  urged 
them  with  all  their  wonted  force  and  ingenuity,  and  the 
debate  waxed  warm,  a  strong  majority,  however,  leaning 
evidently  toward  the  death  of  Charles  and  the  abolition 
of  the  royal  power  in  Great  Britain. 

It  was,  moreover,  brought  into  debate,  and  discussed 
very  earnestly,  by  what  means,  if  it  should  be  decided 
that  Charles  Stuart  must  die,  his  death  should  be  effected. 
Some  hesitated  not  to  advocate  his  private  taking  off  by 
poison  or  the  dagger,  so  to  avoid  the  scandal  and  the 
odium  of  his  public  execution ;  to  whom  the  honest  but 
fanatical  and  visionary  Harrison  replied  in  words  of  fire, 
repudiating  the  idea  of  such  foul  and  midnight  murder, 
and  declaring  that,  as  their  cause  was  just,  so  should  their 
vengeance  be  both  bold  and  open.  That,  as  his  crimes 
were  evident,  so  should  their  punishment  be  manifest  and 
in  the  face  of  day ! 

"  What,"  he  exclaimed,  with  real  eloquence,  "  shall  we, 
the  workers  of  the  grandest  revolution  earth  ever  has  be 
held,  the  conscience-armed  deliverers  of  England,  the 
champions  of  a  nation's  freedom,  the  Christian  warriors  of 
an  all-seeing  God,  shall  we  take  off  our  foe  by  ratsbane  in 
the  dark,  or  slay  him  with  a  hireling  knife,  for  a  mere 
paltry  dread  of  what  the  world  shall  say  ?  Not  so  !  not 
so !  but  we  will  point  the  world's  voice  by  our  actions, 
fetter  its  opinion  by  our  boldness !  Let  Charles,  I  say,  let 
Charles  THE  KING  be  brought  to  trial  in  the  presence  of 


342  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

his  peers,  THE  PEOPLE  !  There,  if  he  be  found  guilty,  let 
him  be  led  to  execution  in  the  world's  eye  and  the  sun's. 
Let  him  be  slain  as  a  deliberate  and  solemn  sacrifice  ;  of 
fered  as  a  high  victim  at  the  shrines  of  freedom  and  of 
God.  With  honor  and  respect  to  the  great  station  he  has 
held,  but  with  implacable  and  stern  resentment  toward 
the  crimes  by  which  he  has  defiled  it.  As  he  hath  done 
to  others  so  let  us  do  to  him,  not  as  vile  stabbers  and  as 
sassins,  but  as  elected  judges,  acting  for  men  below,  and 
answerable  to  the  Lord  on  high.  Let  him  henceforth  be 
an  ensample  unto  those  who  wrould  enslave  their  fellows. 
Let  England  be  a  precept  to  all  nations,  that,  when  op 
pressed,  they  shall  arise  in  the  unconquerable  strength  of 
purity,  and  honesty,  and  truth ;  that  they  shall  battle  bold 
ly,  and  unto  success;  that  they  shall  judge  impartially; 
and  execute  inflexibly  the  high  decrees  of  justice  and  of 
vengeance ! " 

Throughout  this  stirring  scene,  to  Edgar's  great  aston 
ishment,  Cromwell  took  no  share  in  the  argument,  nor 
did  he  even  seem  to  pay  the  grave  attention  which  the 
subject  merited  to  the  opinions  of  the  speakers.  Much 
of  the  time  he  was  engaged  in  whispering,  and  even  jest 
ing,  with  those  who  sat  beside  him  ;  and  once  or  twice 
indulged  in  those  rude  ebullitions  of  practical  humor 
which  bad  made  him  such  a  favorite  in  the  camp,  but 
which  were  most  unsuitable  and  unbecoming  in  a  grave 
and  sorrowful  debate,  involving,  it  might  be,  the  life  and 
death  of  thousands,  the  fate  of  a  most  ancient  line  of 
kings,  the  future  government  of  a  great  and  glorious  em 
pire.  Not  a  little  astonished  and  disgusted  at  this  con 
duct,  Sir  Edgar  wratched  him  closely,  to  detect,  if  possi 
ble,  the  causes  of  his  mood  and  the  internal  workings  of 
his  mind ;  but,  after  a  long  survey,  being  still  in  doubt 
whether  he  had  brought  to  the  council  a  mind  predeter 
mined  and  unalterably  fixed,  or  whether  he  had  put  on 
levity  of  manner  to  conceal  irresolution  and  a  perturbed 
spirit,  he  called  openly  on  Cromwell  to  give  his  opinion. 

"  Verily,"  answered  he,  "  verily  I  am  yet  unresolved. 
Have  at  thee,  Ludlow  !  "  he  continued,  springing  to  his 
feet,  with  a  loud  boisterous  laugh,  and  hurling  at  the  head 
of  the  republican  a  cushion  of  the  sofa  on  which  he  was 


JUDGMENT  OR  THE  KNIFE  ?  343 

sitting,  with  such  violence  as  almost  to  overturn  him,  up 
setting  at  the  same  time  several  candles,  and  throwing  the 
whole  council  into  confusion,  under  cover  of  which  he  ran 
out  of  the  room,  and  was  already  halfway  down  the  stairs, 
when  Ludlow,  who  had  pursued  him,  struck  him  between 
the  shoulders  with  the  same  missile,  and  drove  him  head 
foremost  down  the  night  of  steps  and  through  the  door, 
which  had  been  opened  by  a  servant  in  expectation  of  his 
exit. 

Thus  ended  the  discussion  and  the  council  for  that  eve 
ning  ;  but,  within  a  week,  the  House  of  Commons  ap 
pointed  a  committee  "  to  prepare  a  charge  of  high  treason 
against  the  king,  which  should  contain  the  several  crimes 
and  misdemeanors  of  his  reign ;  which,  being  made,  they 
would  consider  the  best  way  and  manner  of  proceeding 
that  he  might  be  brought  to  justice."  About  the  same 
time  some  idle  intercessions,  at  the  request  of  the  prince, 
were  made  in  the  behalf  of  Charles  by  the  states-general 
of  Holland,  and  a  letter  yet  more  idle  sent  by  the  queen 
to  be  delivered  to  the  parliament.  In  a  short  time  the 
charge  of  the  committee  was  prepared  and  approved  by 
the  commons.  The  House  of  Lords,  indeed,  rejected  it; 
and,  instantly  adjourning  for  a  week,  on  their  return  found 
their  doors  locked  by  orders  of  the  lower  house,  and,  be 
ing  thus  excluded,  sat  no  more  for  many  years. 

Then  a  high  court  of  justice  was  appointed,  of  the  most 
celebrated  and  influential  men,  civil  and  military,  in  the 
realm.  Bradshaw,  a  lawyer  of  great  talent  and  inflexible 
boldness,  was  named  lord-president,  invested  with  much 
state,  and  had  lodgings  suitable  to  his  high  office  assigned 
to  him  at  Westminster.  The  royal  prisoner  was  brought 
up  from  Hurst  to  Windsor  under  a  powerful  guard  of 
Harrison's  command,  and  thence  to  his  own  palace  at  St. 
James,  where  he  was  held  in  rigorous  custody,  while  eve 
ry  preparation  was  made  for  the  accomplishment  of  that 
great  tragedy,  with  the  report  of  which  "  Europe  was 
goon  to  ring  from  side  to  side." 


344  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE. 

"  Mai.  If  such  a  one  be  fit  to  govern,  speak ; 

*  *  *  * 

Mac.  Fit  to  govern ! 
No,  not  to  live.    Oh  nation  miserable  I " 

MACBETH. 

THE  day  at  length  arrived,  big  with  the  fate  of  England 
and  her  king  —  the  twentieth  of  January,  memorable 
thenceforth  through  every  age  for  the  most  solemn  and 
sublimely  daring  measure  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the 
world. 

At  an  extremely  early  hour  the  members  of  the  high 
court  of  justice,  which  had  been  constituted  with  the  ut 
most  labor  by  the  military  council  that  swayed  the  helm 
of  state,  so  as  to  be  a  fair  representation  of  all  ranks  and 
classes  of  society,  assembled  in  the  painted  chamber.  All 
the  chief  members  of  the  Independent  party  in  the  com 
mons,  Lord  Fairfax,  Cromwell,  Skippon,  Ireton,  as  the 
four  generals,  with  all  the  colonels  of  the  army,  the  two 
chief  justices  and  the  chief  baron,  six  peers,  five  aldermen 
of  London,  several  from  the  most  leading  barristers,  and 
many  baronets  and  country  gentlemen  of  note,  had  been 
at  the  first  summoned  to  the  discharge  of  this  unprece 
dented  trust ;  but,  when  the  House  of  Lords  refused  its 
sanction  to  the  ordinance  for  bringing  of  the  king  to  jus 
tice,  the  peers  and  judges  were  omitted.  Sir  Harry  Vane, 
Algernon  Sidney,  St.  John,  and  some  other  stanch  repub 
licans,  who,  although  friendly  to  the  king's  deposition, 
were  not  consenting  to  his  death,  refused  to  sit  as  mem 
bers  of  the  court ;  and  many  more,  either  from  fear  or 
conscience,  failed  answering  to  their  names. 

While  the  commissioners  were  here  assembled,  Arden 
among  the  rest,  news  was  brought  to  them  on  a  sudden 
that  his  majesty  had  landed  at  Sir  Robert  Cotton's  stairs, 
on  which  Cromwell,  who  had  been  previously  conversing 
with  sundry  of  his  intimates  among  the  judges,  with  the 
same  air  of  jocularity  which  had  so  strongly  marked  his 


A  KIXG  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  345 

conduct  during  the  earlier  consultation,  rose  suddenly 
from  the  place  where  he  had  been  sitting,  and  moved  with 
rapid  but  unequal  steps  toward  the  window. 

The  keen  eye  of  Sir  Edgar  followed  him,  and,  to  his  no 
small  wonder,  he  perceived  that  the  hands,  which  the  dar 
ing  chieftain  laid  upon  the  wainscot  to  support  him,  as  he 
leaned  his  body  forward  to  look  upon  the  royal  captive, 
quivered  so  violently  as  almost  to  communicate  a  tremor 
to  his  frame ;  and,  when  he  turned  away,  after  a  long  and 
anxious  gaze  upon  the  destined  victim,  although  his  eye 
was  steady  and  unblenching,  and  his  mouth  firmly  com 
pressed  and  calm,  his  whole  face,  usually  so  rubicund  and 
sanguine  in  its  coloring,  was  ghastly  pale,  and  his  lips 
white  as  ashes. 

Marvelling  greatly  at  this  change  in  one  so  stern  and 
inaccessible  to  ordinary  feelings ;  remembering,  too,  the 
widely  different  glance  with  which,  at  a  more  early  period 
of  his  great  career,  the  eye  of  Cromwell  had  completely 
quelled  the  proud  man  at  whose  aspect  he  now  faltered ; 
and  wishing  to  investigate  the  state  of  mind  which  caused 
so  strange  a  revelation  of  contending  passions,  Sir  Edgar 
was  just  stepping  forward  to  address  him,  when  the  doors 
were  thrown  wide  open,  and  the  judges  summoned  to  the 
court. 

Westminster  Hall,  that  most  sublime  and  ancient  speci 
men  of  architecture,  brought  to  perfection,  which  modern 
art  has  vainly  sought  to  imitate,  by  those  whom,  in  our 
overweening  vanity,  we  children  of  a  later  day  presume 
to  style  barbarians,  had  been  prepared,  with  singular  at 
tention  to  details,  for  this  most  dread  solemnity.  Bench 
es,  row  above  row,  covered  with  crimson  velvet  for  the 
commissioners,  filled  all  the  upper  end ;  Bradshaw,  the 
learned  and  undaunted  president,  sat  in  the  centre  of  the 
front  rank  on  a  splendid  chair,  attired  in  rich  dark-colored 
robes,  and  supported  on  the  right  hand  and  the  left  by  his 
assessors,  Say  and  Lisle,  with  a  long  table  similarly  decked 
before  them.  The  galleries  were  crowded  almost  to  suf 
focation  by  spectators  pale  with  excitement  and  anxiety, 
while  the  whole  body  of  the  building  was  filled  by  an 
enormous  multitude  upon  the  right,  and  by  a  regiment 
of  musketeers  upon  the  left,  in  caps  of  steel  and  polished 
O* 


346  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

corslets,  with  their  pieces  loaded  and  their  ready  matches 
lighted,  a  narrow  passage  being  marked  out  with  silken 
cords  between  the  soldiery  and  populace,  affording  a  free 
passage  from  the  doorway  to  the  bar.  The  judges  en 
tered  in  the  midst  of  a  silence  so  stern  and  deep,  that  the 
slight  rustling  of  their  mantles  and  their  feet  on  the  thick 
carpets,  which  were  strewn  within  the  bar,  was  clearly 
audible.  Solemn,  severe,  and  sad,  they  took  their  seats, 
each  man  of  them,  as  it  appeared,  almost  oppressed  by  the 
intense  feeling  of  the  vast  responsibility  which  had  been 
luid  upon  him,  and  each  determined  to  acquit  himself  as 
became  one  called  to  act,  as  it  were,  before  the  real  and 
imbodied  presence  of  his  country  and  his  God. 

As  Arden  looked  around  him,  he  felt  the  blood  thrill 
painfully  in  every  pore  of  his  own  frame !  He  saw  that 
the  same  process  was  at  work  in  all  around  him.  Never 
had  he  beheld  so  pale  a  concourse.  Yet,  amid  all  that 
colorless  and  ashy  pallor,  there  was  no  sign  of  trepidation 
or  dismay ;  it  was  the  outward  aspect  of  a  mind  within 
so  rigidly  and  painfully  resolved,  that  it  had  gathered  all 
the  blood  toward  its  citadel  the  heart,  not  the  weak  fail 
ing  of  the  flesh  through  doubt  or  terror.  Scarce  had 
their  seats  been  taken  ere  the  doors  of  that  great  hall 
were  opened,  and  a  sedan  chair,  preceded  and  surrounded 
by  a  guard  of  carbineers,  was  carried  to  the  bar,  where  a 
large  chair  of  velvet  was  set  forth  for  the  king's  accom 
modation.  There  was  a  pause  of  intense  interest  as  the 
prisoner  stepped  out.  It  seemed  as  if  the  heart  of  each 
man  in  that  huge  apartment  had  ceased  from  its  pulsa 
tions  ;  not  a  hand  moved,  not  a  breath  was  drawn.  It 
was,  however,  but  for  a  moment ;  for  the  king  instantly 
came  forth,  dressed  in  his  usual  garb  of  sable  silk,  decked 
only  by  the  star  and  garter,  and  wearing  on  his  head  his 
high-crowned  hat,  which  he  did  not  remove,  when,  after 
a  stern  and  haughty  look  of  mingled  pride  and  sadness 
on  the  assembled  court,  he  calmly  took  the  seat  prepared 
for  his  reception.  ISTor  did  he  then,  by  any  glance  or  sign 
of  courtesy,  acknowledge  or  show  any  reverence  to  the 
court ;  but,  after  sitting  still  for  a  few  minutes'  space, 
arose  again,  and,  having  turned  completely  round  with 
bis  back  toward  the  judges,  gazed  steadfastly  down  the 


A.  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  347 

long  area  of  the  hall  with  the  same  severe  aspect  as  be 
fore,  until  the  crier  of  the  court  began  to  read  the  ordi 
nance  of  parliament,  commanding  his  arraignment,  in  a 
sharp  ringing  voice,  which  filled  the  whole  apartment  with 
its  distinct  and  high-pitched  tones.  Then  he  again  sat 
down,  with  his  eyes  fixed  immovably  on  the  command 
ing  and  undaunted  features  of  the  president.  The  par 
liament's  commission  ended,  the  names  of  all  the  judges 
were  called  over,  and,  first,  that  of  the  president,  who  an 
swered  in  a  clear  voice,  quiet  and  unmoved  by  any  tre 
mor.  Then  the  lord-general  was  summoned,  and  straight 
there  was  a  pause  of  unexpected  silence,  for  no  one 
answered. 

Again  the  crier's  accents  wakened  the  echoes  of  the 
hall  —  "  Lord  Fairfax !  " —  and  this  second  time  a  shrill 
voice,  though  musical  and  soft,  replied.  "  He  has  more 
wit,"  it  said,  "  than  to  be  present  here !  " 

The  court  rose  in  confusion — there  was  a  momentary 
tumult,  and  a  clamor  of  stern  import  both  from  the  judges 
and  spectators ;  but  Bradshaw's  high  notes,  pealing  like 
a  silver  trumpet's  above  the  din  of  tongues,  enforced  tran 
quillity,  and,  calling  on  the  officers  to  seize  the  person  who 
had  dared  contemn  the  court,  appeased  the  short-lived 
riot.  But  when,  after  a  hasty  search,  no  one  could  be 
discovered,  the  calling  of  the  commissioners  proceeded, 
until  nearly  eighty  had  answered  to  their  names. 

Then,  with  an  air  of  deep  religious  feeling,  mixed  with 
the  consciousness  of  high  authority,  engraved  on  his  strong 
features,  marked,  as  they  were,  by  lines  of  wearing 
thought,  and  pale  from  studious  vigils  over  the  midnight 
lamp,  Bradshaw  arose ;  and  his  voice,  though  it  faltered 
not,  was  subdued  almost  unto  tenderness  as  he  addressed 
the  royal  culprit. 

"  Charles  Stuart,  king  of  England,  the  commons  of  Eng 
land,  being  deeply  sensible  of  the  calamities  that  have 
been  brought  upon  this  nation,  which  are  fixed  upon  you 
as  the  principal  author  of  them,  have  resolved  to  make 
inquisition  for  blood ;  and,  according  to  that  debt  and 
duty  which  they  owe  to  justice,  to  God,  to  the  kingdom, 
and  themselves,  they  have  resolved  to  bring  you  to  trial 
and  to  judgment ;  and  for  that  purpose  have  constituted 


348  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

the  high   court  of  justice  before   which   you   are   now 
brought." 

This  said,  Cook,  the  attorney  of  the  commonwealth, 
who  sat  close  to  the  person  of  the  prisoner,  rose  to  ad 
dress  the  court ;  but  the  king,  having  in  his  hand  a  staff 
of  ebony,  tipped  with  a  little  head  of  silver,  laid  it  upon 
his  shoulder,  and,  in  the  deep  tones  of  authority,  command 
ed  him  to  "  Hold !  "  which  word  he  still  reiterated  with 
warmth,  that  might  almost  have  been  termed  violence, 
when  he  perceived  that  he  was  disobeyed  at  the  lord- 
president's  command. 

"  My  lord,"  the  attorney  said,  "  I  come  here  to  charge 
Charles  Stuart,  the  king  of  England,  in  the  name  of  the 
commons  of  England,  with  treason  and  high  misdemeanor. 
I  desire  that  the  said  charge  may  be  read !  "  And  the 
lord-president  giving  direction  to  the  clerk  to  read  the 
charge,  the  king,  in  a  yet  louder  and  more  angry  voice, 
cried  "  Hold ; "  but  Bradshaw,  his  large  black  eyes  flash 
ing  with  indignation,  sternly  forbade  the  clerk  to  notice 
the  rude  interruptions  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  but  to 
get  on  to  his  duty ;  and  the  indictment  was  read  instantly, 
containing,  in  effect,  "  that  he  had  been  admitted  King 
of  England,  and  trusted  with  a  limited  power  to  govern 
according  to  law ;  and,  by  his  oath  and  office,  was  obliged 
to  use  the  power  committed  to  him  for  the  good  and 
benefit  of  the  people ;  but  that  he  had,  out  of  a  wicked 
design  to  erect  to  himself  an  unlimited  and  tyrannical 
power,  and  to  overthrow  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
people,  traitorously  levied  war  against  the  present  parlia 
ment  and  the  people  therein  represented." 

It  then  enumerated  the  calamities  which  had  befallen 
England,  the  free  and  noble  blood  which  had  been  shed 
like  water,  the  devastation  of  the  fair  face  of  the  land,  the 
sacking  of  its  rich  and  thriving  cities,  the  slaughter  of  its 
bravest  sons.  It  pointed  to  the  causes,  the  commissions 
signed  by  his  own  hand  for  levying  this  domestic  war,  the 
raising  of  his  standard  in  the  town  of  Nottingham,  his 
presence  at  Edgehill,  and  other  battles  fought  under  his 
eye  and  at  his  instigation,  so  many  flagrant  proofs  that 
"  he  had  been  the  author  and  contriver  of  these  unnatural, 
cruel,  and  bloody  wars ;  and  was  therein  guilty  of  all  the 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  349 

treasons,  murders,  rapines,  burnings,  spoils,  desolations, 
damages,  and  mischiefs  to  the  nation  which  had  been  com 
mitted  in  the  said  wars,  or  had  been  thereby  occasioned  ; 
and  that  he  was,  therefore,  now  impeached  for  the  said 
crimes  and  treasons,  on  the  behalf  and  in  the  name  of  all 
the  good  people  of  England — " 

As  the  clerk  read  these  words,  while  all  the  vast  as 
semblage  was  hushed  in  the  deep  silence  of  attention  and 
excitement,  the  same  shrill  voice  which  had  before  pro 
claimed  the  absence  of  the  Lord-general  Fairfax  again  ex 
claimed,  in  tones  so  thrilling  that  they  penetrated  every 
portion  of  the  building — "  No  !  nor  one  hundreth  part  of 
them." 

The  tumult  wThich  ensued  was  yet  more  wild  and  more 
alarming  than  before  ;  the  whole  .crowd  sprang  to  their 
feet  with  a  hoarse  savage  murmur,  and  a  rush  and  a  rust 
ling  of  their  feet  and  garments  that  might  be  heard  to  a 
considerable  distance.  One  officer,  a  grim  hard-featured 
fanatic,  leaped  forward  from  the  ranks,  and  pointing  with 
his  sheathed  rapier  to  that  division  of  the  galleries  whence 
the  disturbance  had  proceeded,  furiously  shouted  to  his 
men,  bidding  them  "Level  their  muskets  and  give  fire  !" 
A  fearful  scene  ensued.  The  heavy  rattling  of  the  match 
locks,  as  they  w^ere  thrown  forward,  ready  for  instant  use, 
by  the  fierce  soldiery,  was  almost  drowned  by  the  cries, 
shrieks,  and  exclamations  of  the  spectators,  many  of  whom 
were  females,  all  now  in  mortal  terror  at  the  prospect  of 
receiving  an  immediate  volley,  rushing  in  all  directions  to 
and  fro,  and  some  of  them  endeavoring  to  drop  down  into 
the  body  of  the  hall. 

Before,  however,  time  was  given  for  the  men  to  fire, 
it  was  announced  to  the  lord-president  that  the  disturber 
of  the  court  was,  in  truth,  no  other  or  less  personage  than 
the  Lady  Fairfax,  who  had  taken  this  extraordinary  mode 
of  testifying  her  dislike  to  the  proceedings,  and  had  been 
now  persuaded  to  withdraw.  On  this  announcement 
silence  and  peace  were  once  again  restored  ;  and  after  a 
few  moments  the  clerk  went  on  with  the  arraignment,  re 
peating  the  offensive  words  more  loudly  than  before — 
"  On  the  behalf  and  in  the  name  of  all  the  good  people  of 
England,  as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  and  murderer — and  an  iui- 


350  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

placable  and  public  enemy  to  the  commonwealth  of 
England." 

Then,  with  remarkable  and  singular  ill-taste,  and  as  ill- 
judgment,  Charles,  who  had  been  continually  gazing 
about  the  court  in  different  directions,  as  if  entirely  free 
from  interest  of  any  sort  in  the  proceedings  ;  now  lower 
ing  on  the  judges  with  cool,  contemptuous  haughtiness ; 
now  glaring  with  an  eye  of  bitter  hatred  on  the  dark 
soldiery  who  kept  the  avenues ;  now  gazing  with  an  air 
of  sad,  reproachful  gravity,  not  all  unblent  with  pity,  on 
the  bulk  of  the  spectators ;  actually  burst  out  into  a  loud 
and  ringing  laugh  as  the  word  traitor  was  pronounced. 

Bradshaw  again  arose  majestically  firm  and  steady, 
though  evidently  moved  to  anger  by  the  open  and  undis 
guised  contempt  of  Charles,  and  with  strong  emphasis, 
and  evident  determination  to  check  this  disrespectful 
levity  on  the  king's  part,  though  not  without  considera 
tion  for  the  high  place  and  natural  displeasure  of  the  pris 
oner  at  the  proceedings  of  the  court,  rebuked  him  for  the 
tone  and  air  he  had  adopted,  a  tone  and  air  becoming 
neither  his  own  dignity,  his  position  at  the  present  mo 
ment,  nor  the  exalted  duties  and  great  power  of  the  court, 
before  whom  he  stood  arraigned. 

With  the  same  air  of  unconcealed  contempt  which  he 
had  hitherto  displayed,  Charles  listened  to  the  president's 
address,  and  answered  by  a  denial  of  the  existence  of  any 
authority  whatever  in  the  court;  of  any  right  pertaining 
unto  them  or  unto  the  English  people  to  hold  their  king 
to  trial ;  or  of  any  legal  power  at  all  vested  in  those  be 
fore  whom  he  now  stood. 

Little  occurred  worthy  of  farther  note  during  the  three 
days  of  this  singular  and  all-important  ceremonial.  The 
king,  persisting  in  denial  of  the  court's  authority,  refus 
ing  to  plead  to  the  indictment  under  which  he  stood  ar 
raigned,  and  constantly  breaking  in  with  frivolous  and 
uncivil  interruptions  upon  the  business  and  proceedings 
of  the  trial,  was,  at  the  end  of  the  first  day,  remanded, 
and  the  commissioners  adjourned  to  the  ensuing  Monday, 
the  twenty-second  instant. 

Upon  this  second  day  the  prisoner's  behavior  was  the 
same ;  and,  after  some  considerable  altercation,  he  was 


A  KING   BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  351 

again  remanded,  and  led  back  under  close  custody  to  Sir 
Robert  Cotton's  house,  where  lodgings  were  assigned  to 
him  during  the  hearing  of  his  cause. 

Again,  on  the  next  day,  the  twenty-third,  the  court 
resumed,  and,  on  the  king's  appearance  at  the  bar,  the 
commonwealth's  attorney  instantly  craved  judgment  on 
him  as  contumacious ;  saying  that  the  innocent  blood  shed 
by  him  cried  aloud  for  justice.  For  the  last  time  the 
prisoner  was  commanded  by  the  president  to  plead,  and 
warned  that,  by  persisting  in  his  present  course,  he  would 
but  draw  upon  him  an  immediate  judgment ;  but  Charles 
again  refused  to  offer  any  answer  or  defense,  crying  out 
that  he  "valued  not  the  charge  a  rush  " — that  he  "  would 
not  violate  the  trust  his  people  had  reposed  in  him,  by 
owning  a  new  court  of  judicature  " — that  "  it  was  for  their 
liberty  he  stood ;  and,  but  for  this,  he  would  not  here 
object  to  giving  satisfaction  to  the  English  people  of  the 
clearness  of  his  past  proceedings." 

The  clerk  accordingly  was  ordered  to  record  the  pris 
oner's  default ;  and  the  court  once  again  adjourned  until 
the  twenty-seventh,  sitting  throughout  the  interval  caused 
by  the  king's  determination  in  the  painted  chamber  daily, 
and  hearing  witnesses  to  the  fact  of  his  setting  up  the 
standard  of  his  cause  at  Nottingham  ;  the  leading  of  his 
troops  in  armor  at  Edgehill,  Newbury,  and  Naseby ;  the 
issuing  of  mandates  and  commissions  to  his  officers  for 
prosecution  of  the  war ;  and  seeking  to  establish  proofs 
with  which  they  judged  it  needful  to  hold  themselves  pro 
vided,  in  case  of  the  king's  choosing  at  the  last  to  plead. 

After  this  pause  they  met  as  previously,  upon  the  twen 
ty-seventh,  in  the  great  hall  at  Westminster,  and  the 
cause  was  once  more  resumed  ;  but  still  the  king  refused 
to  answer  or  submit ;  and  then  the  president  informed 
him  that  the  court  had  considered  and  agreed  upon  a 
judgment,  but  yet,  if  he  had  anything  to  say  in  defense 
of  himself  in  respect  to  the  matter  charged,  they  were 
prepared  to  hear  him.  In  reply,  Charles  demanded  to  be 
heard  before  both  houses  of  the  parliament,  assembled  in 
the  painted  chamber,  before  the  passing  of  the  sentence. 
This,  after  an  adjournment  of  the  court  for  half  an  hour 
to  consider  on  the  king's  proposition,  was  refused,  as  be- 


352  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

ing,  in  effect,  but  a  new  denial  of  their  jurisdiction  as  now- 
constituted,  and  a  fresh  contempt. 

On  the  return  of  the  commissioners  he  was  at  once  in 
formed  that  he  had  all  too  long  delayed  the  court  already 
by  his  contempt  and  contumacy,  and  that  they  were  re 
solved  unanimously  to  proceed  to  judgment  and  to  pun 
ishment.  Then,  in  a  long  speech,  eloquent  and  lucid,  and 
replete  with  arguments  which  might  appear  most  fitting 
to  excuse  and  justify  such  a  proceeding,  and  to  convince 
the  world  of  the  right  moral  justice  of  a  measure  not  cer 
tainly  in  strict  conformity  with  legal  precedents,  Brad- 
shaw  proceeded  to  pass  sentence  on  the  prisoner — and, 
toward  the  end  of  his  oration,  urged  on  the  king  the  scrip 
tural  example  of  David's  late  repentance  for  his  imitation. 

Unmoved  and  haughty,  with  his  dark  features  marked 
by  no  expression  save  a  slight  scornful  sneer,  Charles  rose, 
still  covered,  and  strove  once  again  to  interrupt  him — de 
manding  to  be  heard  concerning  those  great  imputations 
thus  laid  to  his  charge,  but  was  again  reminded  that  he 
had  refused  to  own  the  court,  and  that  too  much  delay 
and  liberty  had  been  already  granted  to  him. 

The  sentence  was  then  read — the  president  affirming  it 
to  be  "the  sentence,  judgment,  and  resolution  of  the 
whole  court,"  and  all  the  members  standing  up  to  testify 
their  full  concurrence  with  their  speaker.  For  the  last 
time  the  royal  culprit  claimed  to  be  heard ;  but,  at  the 
president's  direction,  the  guards  withdrew  him,  still  ex 
claiming  loudly — "  that,  since  he  was  not  suffered  for  to 
speak,  he  might  expect  what  sort  of  justice  other  men 
should  have  of  them  ! " 

Various  and  wild  were  the  expressions  of  disgust  and 
approbation  among  the  multitude  ;  some  cried  "  God  save 
the  king !  "  despite  the  angry  scowls  and  bitter  menaces 
of  the  fanatical  and  furious  guards ;  others,  and  far  the 
more  in  numbers,  shouted,  with  inflamed  visages  and  bit 
ter  tones,  "  Justice !  "  and  "  Vengeance  !  "  and  "  Away 
with  him ! " — and  one,  more  brutal  than  the  rest,  offered 
to  strike  him  with  his  hand  as  he  was  led  forth  from  the 
hall,  and  actually  spat  upon  his  beard ! 

The  court  rose  ;  the  members  dispersed  to  their  homes ; 
the  most  unprecedented,  singular,  and  solemn  trial  on  rec- 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  353 

ord  in  the  annals  of  the  universe  was  ended;  a  trial, 
wherein  a  puissant  nation  was  the  plaintiff;  a  king,  the 
son  and  grandson  of  a  long  line  of  mighty  and  hereditary 
monarchs,  the  defendant,  and  the  point  at  issue,  the  mo 
mentous  question  whether  the  kings  of  England  should 
be  despots  over  cringing  and  soul-shackled  slaves,  or  the 
first  magistrates  of  an  enlightened,  wise,  and  free,  and 
potent  people. 

Happily  for  England !  happily  for  the  world !  the  judges 
of  that  wondrous  court  were  equal  to  the  task.  Their 
verdict  was  the  fiat  of  their  country's  freedom — rational, 
moderate,  and  stable.  And  to  the  world  that  verdict  set 
forth  an  example  that  has  been  followed,  far  and  near,  to 
the  establishment  of  liberty,  and  happiness,  and  even- 
handed  justice,  in  regions  then  obscured  by  the  thick 
night  of  tyranny  and  ignorance. 

By  his  blood  Charles  Stuart  sealed  the  charter  of  Eng 
land's  constitution;  and,  though  for  a  short  tune  the 
people  lapsed  again  beneath  a  sway  as  absolute  as  his,  it 
was  but  for  a  time.  And  the  seeds  sown  in  that  first  revo 
lution,  moistened  with  noble  blood,  and  matured  by  the 
stormy  breath  of  war,  though  they  lay  dormant  for  a  space, 
were  not  extinct,  but  grew  up  to  a  fair  and  fertile  crop, 
and  so  have  nourished  since — and  may  they  nourish  so 
forever. 

It  may  be  that  the  death  of  Charles  was  a  great  legal 
wrong.  It  may  be  that  among  his  judges  many  were  ac 
tuated  by  insane  and  senseless  feelings  of  overstrained  re 
ligion  ;  that  many  were  urged  on  by  personal  resent 
ments — personal  hopes  and  fears — personal  pride — and 
personal  ambition.  But,  not  the  less  for  these  things,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  it  was  a  GKEAT  MORAL  EIGHT. 

If  Charles  deserved  to  live,  no  tyrant  ever  merited  to 
die.  If  Charles  had  lived,  England  had  never  been, 
what  she  now  is,  THE  FKEE.  Nor  would  another  land,  the 
giant  offspring  of  an  immortal  mother,  have  carried  those 
same  principles,  for  which  her  parent  bled  before  her,  in 
to  effect  over  a  space  a  thousand  times  more  mighty. 
The  good  traits  of  the  man— such  as  they  were,  feeble 
and  faintly  marked,  and  showing  rather  the  absence  of 
active  vice  than  the  existence  of  distinguishing  and  vivid 

23 


354  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

virtue — must  neither  hide  nor  palliate  the  evil  actions  and 
worse  motives  of  the  king.  That  it  was  his  design  to  do 
away,  so  far  as  in  him  lay,  with  England's  constitution ; 
to  reign  uncurbed  by  parliaments — the  only  salutary 
check  on  regal  sway — to  wield  the  boundless  power  of  the 
nation's  sword,  and  grasp  with  the  same  hand  the  vast 
resources  of  the  nation's  purse  ;  to  mould  the  church  into 
an  instrument  and  weapon  of  his  despotic  government ; 
to  reign,  in  short,  an  absolute  and  autocratic  sovereign, 
none  can  at  this  time  doubt,  unless  they  willfully  seal  up 
their  minds  against  the  truth. 

In  desperate  diseases,  means  that  at  other  times  were 
desperate  and  deadly  must  be  applied  to  cure ;  and  it  may 
be  asserted,  without  much  danger  of  disproof,  that,  by 
the  death  of  Charles,  and  by  that  only,  could  the  great 
principles  of  that  immortal  struggle  have  been  wrought 
out  to  their  fulfillment.  It  was  twice  needful.  Needful, 
that  it  might  hold  up  a  terrible  and  salutary  dread  to  fu 
ture  tyrants — that  it  might  tear  the  roots  of  despotism 
from  the  soil  which  they  would  have  rendered  sterile — 
and  doubly  needful,  that,  by  conducting  England  through 
the  fearful  ordeal  of  democratic  anarchy,  it  might  infuse 
a  yet  more  salutary  dread  into  the  people,  of  liberty  un 
regulated  and  immoderate — licentiousness,  not  freedom. 

These  were,  in  part,  the  thoughts  of  Arderi  as  he  sub 
scribed  his  name  to  that  strange  instrument  which,  next 
to  Magna  Charta,  may  be  looked  upon  in  its  results  as  the 
chief  cause  of  England's  present  greatness.  Under  her 
previous  sovereigns,  ambitious,  great,  and  wise  as  many 
of  them  doubtless  were,  England  was  but,  at  best,  a  sec 
ondary  power. ^  Under  her  greatest  usurper  she  blazed 
forth,  on  the  instant,  into  a  star  of  almost  solar  magni 
tude  ;  and,  but  for  that  death-warrant,  the  navigation  act 
had  never  given  her  dominion  over  the  boundless  seas, 
nor  made  her,  as  the  great  commercial  nation,  one  of  the 
mightest  springs  and  movers  of  the  universe. 

What  were  the  real  motives  of  that  man,  who,  if  he  did 
not  absolutely  bring  about,  might,  beyond  question,  ab 
solutely  have  prevented,  the  execution  of  the  king,  no  hu 
man  understanding  may  divine.  But  the  great  proba- 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  355 

bility  is,  that,  like  most  human  motives,  they  were  of 
mingled  strain — half  fire  and  half  clay. 

Sir  Edgar,  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings,  had  been 
convinced,  to  his  full  satisfaction,  that  the  mind  of  Oliver 
was  strangely  and  unnaturally  overwrought.  His  coarse 
and  vulgar  jocularity  at  Ludlow's  house  ;  his  paleness  and 
unwonted  trepidation  on  the  king's  first  appearance ;  the 
little  share  he  took  in  any  portion  of  the  trial,  for,  except 
one  outbreaking  of  fierce  temper  when  Mr.  Dowries,  du 
ring  the  last  adjournment,  most  pathetically  urged  the 
members  to  grant  his  majesty's  demand  of  a  joint  confer 
ence  of  the  three  estates,  he  had  scarce  taken  any  interest 
in  what  was  going  forward  ;  and,  above  all,  his  brutal  and 
halt-frantic  jests  during  the  same  adjournment,  when 
he  daubed  Henry  Martin's  face  with  ink,  and  jeered  and 
laughed  so  as  to  move  the  wonder  of  all  present ;  all  these 
things,  taken  in  connection  with  the  state  in  which  he 
found  him  when  he  visited  his  chamber  to  beseech  him  to 
interfere  on  the  side  of  mercy  after  the  sentence  had  been 
passed,  proved  to  Arden,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  he  was 
awfully  perturbed  in  spirit. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  of  the  day  following  the  trial 
that  Sir  Edgar,  who,  though  he  had  concurred  in  the 
sentence,  Avished  its  mitigation,  sought  Cromwell's  lodging 
at  Whitehall,  nor  was  it  without  some  urgency  that  he 
compelled  the  soldiers  and  domestics  to  admit  him.  The 
fortunate  commander  was  already  in  possession  of  the 
superb  apartments  which  had  so  lately  called  his  fallen 
rival  master.  In  the  first  antechamber  of  that  gorgeous 
suite,  two  privates  of  the  ironsides  were  sitting  by  a  blaz 
ing  fire,  its  bright  light  flashing  from  their  steel  armor 
and  accoutrements  in  strong  and  painful  contrast  to  the 
luxurious  decorations  and  appliances  of  royal  ease  among 
which  they  were  seated, 

The  second  and  third  rooms  of  the  suite  were  vacant, 
although  dazzlingly  illuminated  by  many  waxen  lights ; 
but,  long  before  he  reached  the  door  of  the  last  room, 
Arden's  attention  was  aroused  by  the  deep  groans,  min- 

fled  with  broken  exclamations — snatches  of  fervent  but 
isjointed   prayer,    and  bursts  of  passionate  and  painful 
weeping,  which  fell  upon   his  ear  as  he  advanced.     He 


35G  OLIVEIi  CROMWRLL. 

rapped  against  the  panel,  but  his  signal  \vas  unheard,  or, 
at  the  least,  unheeded ;  though  the  sounds  which  first 
struck  his  ear,  had  now  ceased,  saving  only  the  sullen 
echoes  of  heavy  and  irregular  steps,  distinctly  audible 
even  as  they  fell  on  the  soft  texture  of  the  three-plied  Per 
sian  carpets. 

Scrupulous  though  he  was,  and  jealous  almost  to  ex 
cess  of  undue  familiarity,  Sir  Edgar  was  too  much  excited 
now  to  stand  on  points  of  form.  He  turned  the  gilded 
handle,  and  almost  noiselessly  the  door  revolved  upon  its 
hinges ;  and,  in  one  of  his  darkest  moods,  hypochondriac 
or  conscience-stricken,  that  wonderful  man  stood  before 
him.  The  large  apartment  sumptuously  decked  with  fur 
niture  and  hangings  of  splendid  crimson  velvet,  the  toilet- 
table  with  its  appurtenances  of  transparent  crystal  and 
plate  of  solid  gold,  the  royal  arms  of  England  embroid 
ered  on  the  tester  of  the  bed,  piled  high  with  coverlets 
of  down  and  satin,  passed  scarcely  seen  before  the  eyes 
of  the  spectator  engrossed  in  observation  of  the  strange 
being  who  now  tenanted  the  halls  of  England's  sovereign. 
A  single  light,  and  that  obscure  and  waning,  stood  on  a 
central  table  made  of  some  rich  eastern  wood  ;  and  on  the 
hearth  a  few  decaying  brands,  which  had  been  suifered  to 
burn  low,  smouldered  with  more  of  smoke  than  flame, 
casting  a  sickly  and  unnatural  light  about  the  chamber. 

But  HE — the  tenant — with  blood-shot  eyes,  and  fea 
tures  ghastly  wan  and  haggard — he  strode  to  and  fro  with 
steps  irregular  and  almost  staggering,  now  waving  his 
extended  arm  on  high,  now  striking  it  upon  his  broad 
breast  with  a  violence  denoted  plainly  by  the  heavy  and 
dull  sound  of  the  oft-repeated  blows.  Tearj,  copious  and 
agonizing  tears,  those  which  console  not  nor  relieve,  but 
burn  like  vengeful  fires,  flowed  down  his  hollow  cheeks  ; 
and  his  words,  wild  as  his  gait  and  gestures,  were  now  of 
bitter  self-reproach,  of  accusation,  and  remorse,  now  of 
sincere  and  humble  penitence,  and  now  of  fierce  ecstatic 
triumph.  But,  in  an  instant,  in  the  twinkling  of  the  eye, 
as  he  perceived  that  he  was  not  alone,  his  air  and  aspect 
were,  as  if  by  magic  transformation,  utterly  changed  and 
calm. 

"Ha!  good  Sir  Edgar,"  he  exclaimed,  "this  is  a  pleas- 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  357 

ure  such  as  I  have  not  long  experienced ;  nor,  though 
such  friendly  visitations  were  once  ordinary  things  be 
tween  us,  of  late  days  expected!" 

"I  have  called  on  you,"  Arden  gravely  replied,  "I 
have  called  on  you  now,  lieutenant-general,  not  for  mere 
ordinary  reasons,  whether  of  friendship  or  of  ceremonial, 
but  upon  matters  of  great  weight  and  interest  to  England. 
To  come  to  the  point  at  once,  I  have  called  here  believing, 
and  hoping  likewise,  that  I  shall  find  in  you  a  real  and 
unselfish  patriot ;  one  that  regards  not  self-aggrandize 
ment,  or  fame,  or  wealth,  or  power,  when  compared  to 
his  country's  weal.  In  this  hope,  this  belief,  I  have  come 
to  implore  you,  as  a  friend  and  faithful  counsellor,  that 
you  will  interpose  your  powerful  influence  to  shield  this 
most  unhappy  king  from  death.  Justice  required  that  he 
should  be  condemned — justice  is  satisfied.  The  great  ex 
ample  is  set  forth  to  England  and  the  universe.  All  ends 
are  answered  that  his  execution  can  attain.  And  you,  sir, 
who  have  won  the  highest  crown  of  warlike  honor  that 
has  been  witnessed  in  these  latter  days,  beware.  Beware, 
I  say,  lest  present  times,  ay !  and  posterity  to  boot,  shall 
deem  that,  hi  permitting  Charles  to  perish  by  the  head 
man's  axe,  you  have  looked  rather  to  your  own  than  to 
your  country's  interests.  Kill  him — for  in  neglecting  to 
preserve,  you  actually  kill  no  less  than  if  alone,  and  by  a 
single  mandate,  you  condemned  him — kill  him,  and  it  may 
well  be  you  shall  reign  yourself  as  monarch  over  England. 
But,  to  gain  a  precarious,  short-lived,  and  unhappy  emi 
nence,  you  shall  lose  present  peace  and  future  glory.  You 
shall  cast  from  you  the  esteem  and  love  of  those  who  have 
bled  and  would  die  for  you.  You  shall  stand  high  in  sol 
itary  friendless  state,  without  the  single  consolation  of  a 
sell-approving  spirit.  Spare  him,  save  him ;  and  you  shall 
be  the  first  forever  in  the  heart  and  judgment  of  every 
honest  Briton.  While  England's  name  exists,  yours  shall 
live  in  coeval  glory,  the  title  of  the  loftiest  worth,  the 
purest  patriotism,  the  most  disinterested  clemency  that 
earth  has  witnessed,  since  her  young  surface  bore  the 
steps  of  giants  and  of  angels ! " 

"  Nay !  you  wax  warm  in  eloquence ! "  Oliver  answered, 
coldly.  "  Surely  your  zeal  doth  eat  you  up !  yea,  the 


358  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

desire  of  your  heart  doth  rise  up  to  your  brain,  and  cloud 
its  better  reason.  I  would — ay,  of  a  surety  I  do  profess 
to  you — I  would  lay  down  not  merely  the  poor  honor — 
that  vainest  and  most  lickle  breath  of  human  fantasy — 
which  you  ascribe  to  me,  to  whom  it  is  not  due,  but  to 
the  Lord  of  Hosts — but  my  life  even — my  existence  upon 
earth — my  hope  of  seeing  England  the  freest  and  the 
first  of  European  princedoms — that  so  this  bruised  and 
bending  reed  might  not  be  trodden  in  the  mire — this  frail 
and  half-cracked  potsherd  might  not  be  shivered  into 
atoms.  '  But,  when  the  Lord  hath  spoken,  what  mortal 
shall  gainsay  him '?'  Was  it  not  borne  into  our  hearts, 
branded  with  characters  of  living  lire  upon  the  inmost 
tablets  of  our  souls,  '  Ye  shall  avenge  my  people.  For 
their  blood  and  their  children's  blood,  which  he  hath 
spilled  upon  the  ground  that  hath  not  drunk  it  up, 
calleth  aloud  for  vengeance.  Yea!  ye  shall  slay  the 
king.'  Is  it  not  written  that  'Ye  shall  not  suffer  one 
of  them  to  live !'  and  what  are  we  that  we  should  con 
tradict  Jehovah  ?  I  could  not  if  I  would — I  could  not 
if  I  would — and  that  I  would  do  so,  as  the  game 
stands,  I  say  not — now  save  Charles  Stuart  from  the 
infliction  of  that  righteous  sentence  which  you  have  aided 
to  pass  on  him.  The  people  have  arisen  in  their  might ; 
the  people's  voice  hath  gone  forth  to  the  utmost  por 
tions  of  the  world,  '  The  king  shall  surely  die !'  the  peo 
ple's  voice  is  God's  voice !  Hear  it  and  tremble — hear  it 
and  obey !" 

At  once  the  latest  hope  of  Edgar  vanished ;  the  firm 
determination,  evinced  not  by  words  only,  but  by  the  cold 
hard  eye,  the  compressed  lip,  the  clinched  hand,  and  the 
hard-set  teeth,  through  which  the  low  stern  voice  was 
sent  out  in  a  harsh  and  hissing  whisper,  proved  to  him  so 
distinctly  as  to  banish  even  hope,  that  Charles  had  not  a 
possibility,  much  less  a  chance,  of  life  at  Cromwell's  inter 
cession.  And  from  the  lip  of  Cromwell  only  could  any 
intercession  come  that  should  prevail  over  the  angry  pre 
judices  and  morose  fanaticism  of  the  army. 

Seeing  the  fruit!  essn ess  of  effort,  he  desisted.  With 
a  sick  heart  and  boding  spirit  he  departed  from  the 
presence  of  the  arbiter,  whom  even  now  he  knew  not 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  359 

whether  to  think  an  over-zealous  patriot,  or  an  ambitious, 
hypocritical  adventurer,  playing  a  deep  game  for  a  mighty 
venture ;  and  strode  away  to  find  in  his  lone  lodging  a 
sleepless  bed  disturbed  by  ominous  and  sad  presagings, 
by  doubts,  by  sorrow,  by  remorse.  For  he  already  had 
begun  bitterly  to  repent  the  part  which  he  had  borne  in 
the  great  revolution  now  about  to  terminate  so  tragically 
for  the  ruler — so  disastrously,  as  his  fears  told  him,  for 
the  ruled — and,  above  all,  so  fatally  for  England's  per 
manent  and  real  peace. 

Scarcely  had  Edgar  gone  from  Cromwell's  presence, 
before  a  new  petitioner  arrived,  and  with  yet  more  of 
difliculty  than  the  former  had  experienced,  gained  access 
to  the  presence  of  his  kinsman.  For  that  petitioner  was 
no  other  than  his  cousin,  Colonel  John  Cromwell,  an  officer 
of  the  Dutch  service,  and  commissioned  as  his  agent  with 
the  parliament  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  at  this  time 
resided  at  the  Hague.  In  the  commencement  of  the  in 
terview  the  able  and  accomplished  soldier  confined  himself 
to  solemn  and  ceremonious  remonstrances  against  the  act 
in  contemplation ;  assuring  his  great  relative  of  the  resent 
ment,  horror,  and  disgust  which  this  atrocious  crime — for 
so  he  hesitated  not  to  call  it — would  kindle  throughout 
every  Christian  land ;  would  kindle,  not  against  England, 
nor  the  parliament,  nor  army;  but  against  him  alone, 
who,  as  the  world  well  knew,  could  wind  the  reins  of 
government  just  as  he  listed,  pointing  the  councils  of  the 
one  and  wielding  the  war-weapons  of  the  other. 

"  Tush !  cousin,"  answered  Oliver,  "  tell  me  not  of 
atrocity  and  crime.  'Tis  a  great  act  of  sovereign  and 
solemn  justice.  But  were  it  as  you  say,  I  have  no  power 
to  alter  it.  It  is  the  army,  and  not  I,  who  m'#  inflict  this 
justice  on  the  king,  brooking  not  any  let  nor  hindrance." 

"  Remember  you  not,  sir,"  exclaimed  the  other,  "  how, 
some  twelve  months  ago,  you  did  profess  to  me,  that c  rath 
er  would  you  draw  your  sword  in  the  defense  of  Charles, 
than  suffer  these  republicans  to  harm  one  hair  upon  his 
head.'  Have  you  forgotten  this  and  other  such  assever 
ations,  or  do  you  willfully  and  of  aforethought  violate 
your  word?" 

"  Well,  right  well,  I  remember  it !"  Cromwell  replied, 


360  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

in  tones  of  great  asperity,  "  and  well  you  do  now  to  re 
mind  me  of  it ;  for  so  you  remind  me  of  his  base  and 
lying  insincerity,  that  drove  the  faithful  and  brave  army 
into  such  bitterness  of  wrath  as  not  even  I  could  stem, 
either  by  force  or  counsel.  The  times  are  changed — the 
times  are  changed,  and  strangely,  since  I  spoke  so  to 
you — and  on  his  own  head  be  his  blood.  For  by  his  own 
craft,  his  own  ingrate  and  selfish  subtlety,  hath  he  dragged 
down  on  himself  this  ruin.  If  it  be  true,  that  whom 
the  gods  have  destined  to  destruction  they  first  deprive 
of  reason,  as  the  wise  Ethnics  did  believe,  then  hath  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  hardened  the  heart  of  this  man  that  he 
should  die,  not  live  !" 

"  You  are  determined,  then,  to  do  this  deed  of  infamy 
and  horror  ?"  the  foreign  officer  demanded. 

"  I  am  determined !"  Oliver  answered,  sternly,  "  I  am 
determined  not  to  interfere  with  England's  course  of 
judgment.  I  have  prayed  for  the  king,  and  fasted  !  yea, 
I  have  striven  with  the  Lord  these  many  times  that  some 
way  might  be  given  me  to  save  him — but  no  return  hath 
he  given  me,  nor  any  sign,  nor  answer." 

Colonel  Cromwell  rose  up  from  his  seat,  and  walking 
with  light  steps  toward  the  doorway,  cautiously  looked 
out,  and  satisfied  himself  that  no  one  was  within  earshot ; 
then  turning  the  key  with  a  wary  hand,  and  dropping  a 
strong  night-latch,  he  returned,  and  drawing  from  his 
bosom  an  emblazoned  parchment  containing  his  creden 
tials,  a  large  sheet  of  vellum  perfectly  blank  and  vacant, 
but  signed  at  length  and  sealed,  in  his  own  name  and  for 
his  royal  father,  by  Charles  Stuart,  prince  of  Wales  and 
heir  apparent,  he  laid  them  on  the  table  under  the  eye  of 
his  bold  kinsman. 

"  Cousin,"  he  said,  "  it  is  no  time  to  dally  now  with 
mere  words  in  this  matter.  Look  here  at  this  carte 
blanche.  It  is  in  your  sole  power  now  to  make — not 
yourself  only,  but  your  posterity,  and  family,  and  kindred 
happy,  and  great,  and  honorable,  through  all  ages.  Else, 
as  they  changed  their  names  in  bygone  days  from  Wil 
liams  unto  Cromwell,  so  now  must  they  be  forced  to 
change  it  once  again  ;  for  this  one  fact  will  bring  such  in 
famy  upon  the  name  and  the  whole  generation  of  them, 


A  KING  BEFORE  HIS  PEOPLE.  3G1 

that  no  after  ages  will  be  able  to  wipe  out  the  shameful 
stain." 

The  general's  features  worked  convulsively,  and  his 
face  flushed  crimson,  and  paled,  and  flushed  again,  as  he 
heard  this  address ;  and  his  hand  dropped  down  to  his 
dagger's  hilt,  and  griped  it  with  such  force,  that  it  seemed 
as  if  he  would  have  buried  his  strong  fingers  in  the  ivory 
pommel ;  but,  when  his  guest  had  ended,  he  answered  in 
a  quiet  voice,  though  evidently  guarded  and  constrained, 

"  You  have  done,"  he  said,  "  you  have  done,  sir,  and 
I  have  heard  you  out.  I  have  been  hitherto  calm — very 
calm,"  he  continued,  gradually  warming  as  he  spoke,  into 
fierce  ire ;  "  I  have  endured  to  hear  my  motives  ques 
tioned  ;  my  assertions  doubted ;  and  the  great  cause,  of 
which  I  am  a  most  unworthy,  but  a  most  sincere  sup 
porter,  scoffed  at  and  vilified,  and  held  up  as  atrocious 
in  the  world's  eye,  infamous  and  shameful.  Calmly  I 
have  endured  all  this — nay,  I  have  heard  my  own  good 
name  traduced,  my  family  dishonored,  the  name  of  Crom 
well  coupled — coupled,  I  say,  as  if  synonymous — with 
villany  and  its  reward — disgrace.  Calmly  I  have  endured 
this  also  !  But  you  have  dared  to  bribe  me — presumed  to 
fancy  that  you  could  buy  me,  not  like  a  fettered  captive 
in  the  body,  but  like  a  renegado  and  apostate  in  the 
chainless  mind.  You  !  you — a  Cromwell — have  ventured, 
face  to  face,  to  offer  me  the  basest  of  affronts — to  tender 
to  me  gold,  and  rank,  and  titles,  to  turn  me  from  my 
righteous  purpose — to  seduce  me  from  my  conscience,  my 
allegiance,  and  my  honor.  Thank  God — thank  God! — 
I  say,  thank  God,  if  you  believe  in  him — that  I  am  regen 
erate,  and  you  a  Cromwell — for  were  I  one  jot  more  a 
sinner  than  I  am,  or  you  one  tittle  less  connected 
with  my  blood,  then  had  I  sheathed  this  dagger  " — and, 
as  he  spoke,  he  drew  and  dashed  the  weapon  furiously 
upon  the  ground  before  his  feet — "dungeon-deep  into 
your  heart.  Begone  !  you  have  your  answer." 

Truly  had  Oliver  said  that  the  tempter  was  of  his  own 
blood ;  for  he  rose  firmly  from  his  chair,  and  with  an 


362  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

passion — I  am  a  soldier,  man,  and  not  a  woman  or  a  child, 
that  words  can  daunt  me.  But  now  you  are  distem 
pered — think  of  this  matter  deeply  ;  weigh  it  and  ponder 
on  it  ere  you  answer.  I  shall  await,  at  my  inn,  your  re 
ply  until  to-morrow  morning.  Give  you  good  night  and 
better  temper." 

And  he  withdrew,  believing  in  his  heart  that  Oliver's 
rage  was  but  assumed,  and  that  the  golden  bait  would 
take.  But  sadly  was  he  destined  to  be  deceived ;  for,  at 
about  an  hour  after  midnight,  a  messenger  came  to  him 
from  Whitehall,  and  told  "him  he  might  now  go  to  bed, 
for  he  must  not  expect  any  more  answer,  than  he  had, 
unto  the  prince  ;  for  that  the  council  of  the  officers  had 
again  been  seeking  God,  and  there  was  no  hope  for  it, 
but  the  king  must  die. 

Accordingly,  upon  the  following  morning,  the  celebra 
ted  twenty-ninth  of  January,  Charles,  after  a  mournful 
parting  with  his  children,  was  led  through  the  palace  gar 
den  and  park  of  St.  James  to  his  own  chamber  at  White 
hall,  where  he  prayed  for  a  space  with  Bishop  Juxon, 
who  afterward  accompanied  him  to  the  block  ;  thence  to 
the  banqueting-hall,  and  thence,  through  a  passage  bro 
ken  in  the  wall,  unto  the  scaffold.  There,  after  a  short 
speech,  which  he  concluded  by  declaring  that  he  "  had  a 
good  cause — he  had  a  gracious  God — and,  therefore,  he 
would  say  no  more,"  he  laid  down  his  head  on  the  block, 
and  died,  with  such  a  perfect  dignity,  such  a  serene  and 
modest  fearlessness,  unmixed  with  anything  of  boldness 
or  parade,  as  to  justify  the  observation,  applied  originally 
to  another,  that  "  no  action  of  his  life  became  him  like 
the  leaving  of  it." 


A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT.  363 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT. 

"Now  there  he  lies, 
"With  none  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence.1" 

JULIUS  C^ESAB. 

"  Tot  populis  terrisque  superbum 
Kegnatorem  Asise.    Jacet  ingons  litore  truncus 
Avolsuinnue  huineris  caput,  et  sine  nomine  corpus." 

DENIED,  II.  556. 

MIDNIGHT  was  on  the  mighty  city. 

The  happy  sleep  had  swept  away  the  cares  of  thou 
sands  in  its  still,  death-like  oblivion.  The  multitudes  who 
had  assembled  to  sate  themselves  with  gazing  on  the  sad 
yet  exciting  spectacle  of  the  morning,  wearied  and  worn 
out  with  the  unnatural  tension  of  their  nerves  during  that 
day  of  horror,  had  passed  away  to  seek  a  contrast  in  the 
repose  of  their  domestic  chambers. 

The  very  guards  were  slumbering  on  their  posts  about 
the  precincts  of  Whitehall,  and  not  a  sound  or  breath  dis 
turbed  the  silence  of  the  night.  Within  the  palace,  in 
one  of  those  sublime  apartments  which  he  had  loved  so 
well  while  living,  upon  a  lofty  bed,  adorned  with  crimson 
curtains,  and  rich  ostrich  plumes,  and  the  gold-blazoned 
arms  of  England,  lay  a  plain  oaken  coffin,  half-covered 
with  a  pall  of  sable  velvet.  Many  tall  waxen  torches 
blazed  around  the  room  in  candlesticks  of  solid  silver,  six 
feet  at  least  in  height,  and  their  light  glanced  upon  a 
narrow  plate  of  silver  decking  the  coffin's  lid,  whereon 
were  these  few  words,  "King  Charles — 1648." 

No  mourning  crowds  wept  round  the  couch  whereon 
the  hapless  prince  slept  that  cold  sleep  that  knows  no 
earthly  waking.  No  coroneted  peers  watched  over  the 
embalmed  remains  ;  no  flippant  pages  hushed  their  ac 
customed  merriment  in  reverence  to  the  ashes  of  their 
master ;  no  guard  of  honor,  with  trailed  arms  and  down 
cast  visages,  stood  sentinel  without  the  door  ;  but  with 
their  carabines  loaded,  sheathed  in  their  buff  coats  and 
bright  armor,  two  privates  of  the  ironsides  strode  to  and 


364  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

fro,  passing  each  other  and  repassing  at  brief  intervals, 
the  ringing  of  their  heavy  armor,  and  the  loud  sounds  of 
their  spurred  and  booted  footfalls,  awakening  strange 
echoes  in  that  apartment  of  the  dead. 

The  night  wore  onward,  and  the  stars  began  to  wink  in 
the  cold  skies,  and  the  first  coming  of  the  morn  was  felt 
in  the  increasing  chillness  of  the  air.  Hitherto  the  watch 
of  those  unusual  mourners  had  been  lonely  and  uninter 
rupted.  The  clock,  however,  was  just  striking  three,  and 
its  loud  cadences  were  vocal  still  through  the  long  vacant 
halls  and  vast  saloons  of  the  deserted  palace,  when  a  remote 
and  stealthy  footstep  broke  upon  the  silence,-  which  was 
succeeding  fast  to  the  loud  chimes.  The  soldiers  inter 
changed  alarmed  and  jealous  glances,  blew  their  slow 
matches  to  a  vivid  flame,  and,  listening  with  wary  ears 
and  ready  weapons,  resumed  their  guarded  walk.  Near 
er  and  nearer  came  the  step,  firm,  regular  and  low,  but 
evidently  not  desirous  of  avoiding  observation.  Now  it 
was  at  the  door.  It  paused,  and  bringing  simultaneously 
their  weapons  to  the  level,  the  soldiers  halted  between 
the  body  and  the  door,  and  challenged  loudly,  "  Stand, 
ho !  the  word.  Stand  or  we  shoot !" 

"  Justice  and  freedom !"  answered  a  harsh  and  discord 
ant  voice  ;  and,  bearing  in  his  right  hand  a  small  waxen 
taper,  and  in  his  left  a  staff  of  ebony,  Oliver  Cromwell  en 
tered.  He  was  dressed  plainly  in  a  full  suit  of  black 
cloth,  with  silken  hose,  and  a  loose  cloak  of  broadcloth 
faced  with  velvet,  a  very  light  black-hilted  rapier  hanging 
from  his  girdle,  in  lieu  of  the  long,  heavy  broadsword 
which  he  so  rarely  laid  aside ;  his  face  was  very  pale,  but 
perfectly  composed  and  grave,  with  the  mouth  firmly 
closed,  and  the  eyes  shining  with  a  steady  and  unaltered 
light. 

"Good  watch,"  he  cried,  as  he  came  in,  "you  keep 
good  watch.  Cold  work,  I  trow,  and  cheerless.  What 
would  ye  say  now  to  a  flagon  of  October — hey  !  Stephen- 
son,  hey  !  Bowtell  ?  So !  so  !  ye  are  on  duty,  ye  would 
say — well,  interrupt  me  not  for  that — I  will  relieve  ye 
for  a  brief  space,  but  one  at  a  time,  one  only !  Stephen- 
son,  give  me  thy  carabine  and  the  match — and  now  get 


A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT.  3(55 

thee  down  to  the  buttery ;  tarry  not  over  hall'  an'  hour, 
and  return  straightway  to  take  bluff  Bowtell's  place." 

The  soldier  grinned  significantly,  gave  up  his  weapon 
to  his  officer,  and  walked  off  greatly  pleased  at  this  brief 
intermission  of  an  unpleasant  duty.  Cromwell  looked 
after  him  as  he  departed,  and,  when  his  footsteps  had  sunk 
into  silence,  depositing  the  carabine  he  had  taken  in 
a  corner,  he  walked  up  slowly  to  the  coffin  with  a  strong, 
stately  step  and  unmoved  aspect. 

"HE  hath  not  broken  on  thy  watch,  then?"  he  de 
manded,  with  a  grim  smile,  but  evidently  speaking 
thoughtfully  and  with  emotion,  although  wishing  to  con 
ceal  his  feelings  by  an  assumption  of  unfeeling  merriment. 
"lie  h;ith  not  waked  to  scare  ye?" 

"  Now  may  the  Lord  forbid !"  returned  the  supersti 
tious  soldier,  half  alarmed  at  the  words  and  manner  of 
his  officer.  What  mean  you,  worthy  general  ?" 

"  Why,  how  now,  simpleton  ?"  Cromwell  replied. 
You  look,  in  truth,  as  if  he  had  walked  forth  in  his  un 
timely  cerements  to  affright  you.  But  fear  not,  Bowtell, 
fear  not.  The  king  sleeps  sound,  and  shall  sleep,  till  the 
day  when  the  great  trumpet  of  Jehovah  shall  call  him  to 
a  mightier  judgment,  and,  it  may  well  be,  to  a  darker 
doom.  Have  they  screwed  down  the  coffin  ?"  he  contin 
ued  ;  "  I  fain  would  look  upon  him  ?" 

And  he  moved  closer  to  the  bed,  and  throwing  back 
the  pall  of  velvet,  tried  to  raise  the  lid  ;  but,  though  not 
permanently  fastened  down,  it  yet  resisted  the  attempt, 
being  held  tightly  by  some  two  or  three  stout  spikes. 
After  a  moment's  pause,  he  thrust  the  ferrule  of  his  staff 
into  the  chink,  and  made  an  effort  thus  to  draw  the  nails 
out  of  their  sockets ;  but  they  had  been  driven  in  too 
firmly,  and  the  staff  creaked  as  though  it  would  have 
broken.  "Lend  me  thy  rapier,"  he  exclaimed;  "its 
steel  hilt  will  have  strength  enough  ;  and,  with  the  word, 
he  forced  the  pommel  into  the  aperture  between  the  lid 
and  side,  and  leaning  heavily  upon  the  weapon  as  a  lever, 
wrenched  up  the  cover  with  an  impetus  so  sudden,  that 
the  nails  flew  into  the  air,  and  struck  against  the  canopy 
which  overhung  it.  Then  he  stood  fixed,  and,  for  a  short 


3G6  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

time,  speechless,  regarding,  with  a  disturbed  and  cloudy 
brow,  the  truncated  body  of  his  victim. 

The  body,  which  had  been  opened  and  embalmed, 
was  swathed  in  bandages  of  linen  drawn  so  tightly  round 
the  limbs,  that,  when  the  shroud  was  lifted,  the  perfect 
form  and  the  development  of  all  the  muscles  might  be 
traced  as  plainly  as  while  he  was  in  life.  The  head,  par 
tially  covered  by  an  embroidered  napkin  bound  about 
the  brows,  and  a  broad  riband  of  white  silk  fastened  be 
neath  the  chin,  was  in  its  proper  place  ;  but  a  small  in 
terval,  that  showed  like  a  discolored  streak  of  dingy 
red,  marked  its  disseverment.  The  face  was  pale,  but 
scarcely  more  so  than  its  wont,  and  far  less  ashy  in  its 
hues  than  that  of  the  undaunted  warrior  who  leaned  over 
it.  The  lips  retained  their  usual  and  healthful  color,  with 
something  of  a  smile  still  visible  about  them ;  the  eyes 
were  closed,  but  naturally,  and  as  if  in  sleep ;  the  nose 
preserved  its  wonted  form,  unsharpened  as  yet  by  the 
iron  hand  of  death. 

There  was,  indeed,  no  sign  or  symptom  of  a  painful 
and  untimely  dissolution  on  those  serene  and  comely  lin 
eaments  ;  something  there  might  be  of  a  languor  not 
characteristic  of  the  living  man,  of  a  placidity  and  peace 
more  deep  than  usual ;  but  nothing  which  could  have  led 
any  one  to  fancy  that  the  thread  of  life  had  been  snapped 
violently,  for  him  who  slumbered  there  so  tranquilly,  by 
the  rude  weapon  of  the  executioner. 

For  a  long  time  Cromwell  spoke  not  a  word  ;  nor 
moved  a  limb ;  nor  even  winked  an  eyelid ;  steadfastly, 
solemnly  gazing  on  the  features  of  his  fallen  foe  and 
rival. 

"  He  sleeps  indeed ! — he  sleeps,  how  peacefully  and  well. 
That  eye  shall  flash  no  more  with  kingly  pride  ;  that  lip 
be  wreathed  no  more  into  the  calm  but  haughty  sneer. 
The  busy  brain,  that  plotted  so  much  woe  to  England — 
the  indomitable  mind,  that  would  not  swerve  one  hair 
breadth  from  its  purpose,  no,  not  to  purchase  life — are 
these — are  these,  too,  in  repose,  like  that  cold,  voiceless 
lip,  that  nerveless  and  inanimate  right  hand?  Is«  that 
sleep  dreamless  ?  Doth  the  soul,  plunged  in  a  dark  and 
senseless  torpor,  lie  paralyzed  and  shorn  of  its  pervading 


A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT.  367 

vigor  in  the  abyss  of  Hades  ?  Or  hath  it  but  awakened 
from  this  trance,  after  the  turmoil  of  mortality,  to  more 
complete  perfection  ;  to  consciousness,  and  wisdom,  and 
unchanged  immortality?  Dost  thou  know,  thou  cold 
form,  dost  thou  know  now  who  stands  beside  thee  ?  He 
who  continually  strove  against  the  tyranny  thou  wouldst 
have  set  up  in  the  land.  He  who  beat  down  thy  banner 
in  the  field,  and  swept  thy  gallant  cavaliers  like  dust  be 
fore  the  whirlwind.  He  who  brought  down  thy  glory 
from  the  throne,  and  paved  thy  path  to  that  still  hostelry 
— the  grave  ?  Dost  thou  know  this  ;  and  yet  not  start 
from  out  thy  bloody  cerements  ? 

"  I  do  but  dream,"  he  went  on,  after  a  moment's  pause 
— "  the  king  is  nothing !  a  mere  clod  in  the  valley  !  '  Hell 
from  beneath  is  moved  for  thee,  to  meet  thee  at  thy 
coming:  it  stirreth  up  the  dead  for  thee,  even  all  the 
chief  ones  of  the  earth ;  it  hath  raised  up  from  their 
thrones  all  the  kings  of  the  nations.  All  they  shall  speak 
and  say  unto  thee — Art  thou  also  become  weak  as 
we?  Art  thou  become  like  unto  us?  Thy  pomp  is 
brought  down  to  the  grave,  and  the  noise  of  thy  viols ; 
the  worm  is  spread  under  thee,  and  the  worms  cover 
thee!  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  oh  Lucifer, 
son  of  the  morning  !  how  art  thou  cut  down,  which  didst 
weaken  the  nations !'  Thus  was  it  written  of  a  mightier 
one  than  thou — thus  hath  it  been  with  thee  !  Thy  place 
is  empty  upon  earth ;  thy  country  no  more  knows  thee ! 
Verily  thou  art  fallen  asleep — asleep  for  many  a  thousand 
years,  until  thou  shalt  be  summoned  to  make  answer  in 
the  spirit  for  all  thy  deeds  wrought  in  the  flesh.  Yet 
then,  even  then,  wilt  thou  have  nothing,  fallen  great  one, 
nothing  to  witness  against  me.  But  for  thine  own  self- 
will,  thine  own  tyrannical  and  senseless  folly,  thine  own 
oppressing  of  the  saints,  and  trampling  under  foot  the 
delicate  and  tender  consciences  of  men,  nay  !  more  than 
all  this,  but  for  thine  own  false-dealing  and  foul  treachery 
toward  those  who  would  have  served  thee  truly,  thou 
mightst  have  still  sat  in  the  high  place  of  thy  forefathers. 
Thou  mightst  have  outshone  them,  so  far  as  the  sove 
reign  of  a  free  and  mighty  nation  outshines  the  chieftain 
of  an  enslaved  and  paltry  tribe.  Thou  mightst  have  been 


368  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

served  by  hands  and  swords,  through  the  Lord's  help, 
invincible,  honored,  and  loved  by  hearts  loyal,  sincere, 
and  single-minded.  Thou  mightst  have  fulfilled  the  num 
ber  of  thy  days,  dying  in  green  old  age  amid  the  tears  and 
lamentations  of  thy  people,  and  bequeathing  to  thy  sons 
that  puissant  and  time-honored  sceptre  which  now  shall 
never  more  be  wielded  by  thy  race. 

"  Alas  !  alas !  for  man  !  Who  that  looked  on  thee  in 
thy  fair  and  princely  youth  would  have  presaged  so  sad 
an  end  to  thy  bright-seeming  fortunes  ?  Surely  this  frame 
of  thine,  which  mine  own  eyes  have  seen  so  proud-en 
throned  upon  thy  charger's  back,  rallying  thy  followers 
through  the  havoc  and  the  terror  of  the  battle — surely  this 
frame  of  thine,  so  strongly  knit,  and  muscular,  and  manly, 
was  formed  to  battle  hardships  and  to  brave  long  years ! 
Surely,  but  for  thine  own  insane  and  selfish  folly,  thou 
wast  formed  to  die  old ! 

"  Lo !"  and,  as  he  thus  spoke,  he  laid  the  finger  of  his 
right  hand  in  the  gaping  wound,  and  with  cool  scrutiny 
examined  the  consistency  and  texture  of  the  muscles,  "  lo  ! 
how  sound  is  this  flesh,  how  wiry  and  elastic,  these  dis 
severed  sinews.  There  is  no  symptom  here  of  disease  or 
debility — no  decay — no  corruption  of  the  system.  But 
for  the  axe,  he  had  lived  years — ay!  many  and  long 
years.  But,  verily,  all  things  are  of  the  Lord — and  had 
HE  not  predestined  him  to  die,  then  had  he  hardened  not 
his  heart,  nor  raised  up  foes  against  him,  of  whom  it  is  a 
scripture  that  '  none  shall  be  weary  nor  stumble  among 
them  ;  none  shall  slumber  nor  sleep ;  neither  shall  the  gir 
dle  of  their  loins  be  loosed,  nor  the  latchet  of  their  shoes 
be  broken.'  Whom  the  Lord  listeth  to  destroy,  surely 
he  striveth  but  in  vain  ;  for  who  shall  find  strength  in  the 
sword,  or  refuge  in  the  speed  of  horses,  against  the  Lord 
of  Plosts  ?  Then  say  not  that  I  slew  thee,  but  the  Lord 
— for  how  had  I  defended  thee  against  the  God  of  Bat 
tles — or  how  had  I  acquitted  whom  HE  had  judged  to 
destroy  ?" 

He  paused  from  the  long,  wild  declamation  which  he 
had  poured  out  in  the  perturbation  of  his  spirit,  half-con 
scious,  and,  perhaps,  half  self-convicted  of  criminal  ambi 
tion,  and  struggling  to  convince  himself  entirely  of  the 


A  MIDNIGHT  VISIT.  369 

truth  of  the  dark  creed  he  had  adopted  ;  and  thus  to  sat 
isfy  his  restless  spirit  by  a  half  voluntary  self-deception. 

The  sentinel,  meantime,  had  stood  beside  him,  with  his 
hand  still  outstretched  as  when  he  first  extended  it  to  re 
ceive  again  his  sword,  gazing  partly  in  admiration,  partly 
in  fear  and  awe,  now  on  the  calm  and  rigid  countenance 
of  the  dead  king,  now  on  the  varying  and  agitated  fea 
tures  of  his  remorseful  judge,  but  less  astonished  at  the 
scene  than  would  have  been  expected,  in  consequence  of 
the  prevailing  custom  of  his  party  to  pray  and  preach, 
with  every  species  of  whining  cant  or  furious  raving,  on 
all  occasions  anywise  uncommon  or  surprising. 

For  several  minutes'  space  Oliver  gazed  again  in  silence 
on  the  body,  and  then  replacing  the  lid  gently  and  almost 
tenderly — "  Farewell,"  he  said,  "  farewell  on  earth  for 
ever.  Strangely  have  we  been  linked  together  here  be 
low,  and  wonderfully  do  we  part.  Hadst  thou  prevailed, 
my  fate  had  been  more  bitter.  Farewell !  farewell !  we 
meet  no  more,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  until  that  final 
meeting  when  God  must  judge  between  us  two.  Till 
then,  sleep  soundly;  and  then  awake — HE  only  knows, 
to  what !" 

He  then  replaced  the  screws,  and  threw  the  pall  across 
the  coffin  as  before,  the  soldier  Bowtell  holding  a  torch, 
which  he  had  taken  from  the  nearest  candelabrum,  to  as 
sist  him;  this  finished,  he  withdrew  a  pace  or  two, 
wrapped  his  cloak  closely  round  him,  and  sat  down  upon 
a  settle  near  the  bed.  The  soldier,  having  replaced  the 
light,  stood  for  a  little  time  in  silence,  and  then  said — "  I 
pray  you  tell  me  now,  lieutenant-general,  what  mode  of 
government  shall  we  now  have  ?" 

"  The  same  as  then  was,"  he  answered,  in  a  sharp,  de 
cisive  tone ;  and  instantly  relapsing  into  silence,  sat  in 
deep,  sullen  thought,  until  the  other  soldier  £ame  back 
from  the  buttery ;  when  forgetting  or  disregarding  his 
first  promise  of  relieving  Bowtell  in  his  turn,  he  took  up 
the  small  taper  he  had  brought  with  him,  and  left  the 
room  in  his  dark  mood,  speaking  no  word  to  either  of 
the  sentinels. 

P*  24 


370  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   LAST   TRIAL. 

"To  hold  you  in  perpetual  amity, 
To  make  you  brothers,  and  to  knit  your  hearts 
"With  an  unslipping  knot,  take  Antony 
Octavia  to  his  wife^  *  * 

*  *  *    By  this  marriage 

All  little  jealousies,  which  now  seem  great, 
And  all  great  fears,  which  now  import  their  dangers, 
Would  then  be  nothing." 

ANTONY  AND  CLEOPATRA. 

SOME  months  had  passed  after  the  death  of  Charles, 
during  which  a  new  form  of  government  had  been  estab 
lished.  By  a  vote  of  the  commons  the  existence  of  the 
upper  house  was  declared  dangerous  and  useless,  and, 
without  more  ado,  it  was  abolished.  About  the  same 
time,  by  another  vote,  monarchy  was  extinguished,  and 
it  was  made  high  treason  to  proclaim,  or  otherwise  ac 
knowledge  Charles  Stuart,  commonly  called  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  as  king  of  England.  A  council  of  state  had 
been  next  composed,  of  forty-one  members — among  whom 
were  Fairfax,  Cromwell,  Bradshaw,  with  St.  John  and 
the  younger  Vane — on  whom  devolved  the  duties  of  the 
executive,  with  a  proviso  that  they  should  resign  their 
powers  to  the  state  as  soon  as  the  republic  should  be  settled 
on  a  permanent  and  stable  basis. 

Some  disaftection  of  the  army,  and  tumults  which,  for 
a  short  time,  threatened  to  be  dangerous  to  the  new  gov 
ernment,  were  put  down  and  punished  rigorously  by  the 
zeal  and  energy  of  Cromwell,  and  all  domestic  matters 
wore  now  a  show  of  happier  and  fairer  promise  than  Ar- 
den  had  e^er  hoped  to  witness;  while  the  republic  had 
already  be«n  acknowledged,  and  received  the  greetings 
of  many,  the  most  powerful  potentates  of  Europe. 

Spring  had  grown  into  early  summer ;  but,  while  all 
things  around  him  gradually  wore  a  fuller  and  more  per 
fect  beauty,  while  buds  expanded  into  full-blown  blos 
soms,  and  woods  put  on  their  freshest  garniture  of  green, 
and  the  rich  fields  gladdened  the  farmer's  heart  by  their 


THE  LAST  TRIAL.  371 

broad  promise,  the  hopes  of  Arden  had  been  blighted 
more  and  more,  had  faded  into  sorrows,  had  been  seared 
and  dried  up  into  absolute  despair. 

A  very  few  days  after  the  king's  execution,  he  had 
been  summoned  to  repair  with  speed  to  Woodleigh,  where 
Sibyl,  his  beloved,  his  last  and  only  link  to  the  cold  world, 
was  dangerously,  if  not  desperately  ill.  He  found  her, 
as  his  crushed  heart  too  truly  had  presaged,  already  dy 
ing.  He  watched  beside  her  couch,  and  day  by  day 
marked  the  successive  inroads  of  disease  on  that  dear 
form.  He  saw  her  hourly  growing  weaker,  paler,  and 
less  earthly  in  her  mortal  frame ;  and  hourly,  as  he  thought, 
more  heavenly,  more  angelic  in  her  mind. 

Between  them  there  was  now  no  estrangement,  no  dis 
trust.  Death,  which  to  ordinary  spirits  is  a  separation — 
death  was  to  them  a  bond  of  union.  Disguise  was  at  an 
end  ;  both  felt,  both  knew,  and  both  acknowledged  that 
"  some  wintry  blight,"  indeed,  some  "  casual  indisposi 
tion,"  was  the  immediate  cause  of  her  decline,  yet  that  a 
pined  and  broken  heart  had  snapped  the  corporeal  ener 
gies,  and  betrayed  the  fortress  to  the  insidious  spoiler. 
Sorrow,  regret,  deep  mourning,  cast  their  dark  shadows 
over  them,  but  remorse  came  not  near  them ;  nor  re 
proach  ;  nor  any  bitter  feeling  except  the  sickening  sense 
of  hope  deferred. 

Sad  though  it  was,  and  pitiful,  it  was  a  lovely  scene — 
that  death-bed — the  bold  and  fearless  soldier,  unmanned 
utterly,  and  sobbing  like  a  weak  boy  over  the  wreck  of 
her  whom  he  felt  that  he  now  loved  better  when  stricken, 
blighted,  and  cut  off  already  from  communion  with  the 
sons  of  men,  than  when  she  was  the  pride  and  admiration 
of  all  who  chanced  to  meet  her.  It  has  been  said  already 
that  there  was  no  disguise  between  them ;  and  now,  when 
every  possibility  of  selfish  motives  was  removed ;  when 
there  could  be  no  more  the  slightest  misconstruction ; 
when  all  asperities  were,  in  truth,  softened  down  by  the 
approach  of  that  great  analyzer  of  all  mortal  deeds  and 
mortal  causes,  death,  all  that  had  been  before  obscure 
and  intricate,  was  rendered  plain  as  noonday.  And 
Sibyl  shamed  not  to  confess  her  sense  of  her  own  hapless 
error,  an  error  which  had  robbed  her  lover  of  all  chance 


372  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  happiness  on  earth ;  had  robbed  herself  of  life  ;  and 
Arden,  melted  and  tortured  by  contrition,  and  half-repent 
ant,  as  has  been  shown  already,  of  the  part  which  he  had 
played,  and  morbidly  dissatisiied  with  the  result  of  the 
experiment,  sat  groaning  in  the  spirit  by  her  pillow,  and 
confessed,  in  very  hopelessness  of  heart,  that  he  had  cast 
away  his  all  for  a  mere  vision  ;  for  a  most  vain  and  sense 
less  fancy. 

But  in  these  bitter  moments  it  was  hers,  as  the  true 
woman's  part,  still  to  enact  the  comforter ;  to  point  the 
real  evils,  which,  while  in  health  and  happiness,  she  scarce 
would  have  admitted  such,  that  he  had  battled  to  put 
down  ;  and  the  more  real  benefits  which  must  spring  up 
hereafter  from  the  anarchy  that  had  succeeded  to  the  fall 
of  Charles,  as  darkness  follows  the  decline  of  day  only 
to  bring  forth  the  more  pure  and  mellow  moonshine. 

She  died.  And  Arden  was,  indeed,  alone ;  alone  for 
ever  ;  without  one  tie  on  earth ;  without  one  kindred 
creature  through  whose  veins  the  pure  blood  of  his  fath 
ers  poured  its  unmingled  current ;  without  one  selfish 
hope ;  without  one  feeling  left  that  could  disturb  or  alien 
ate  his  absolute  devotion  to  his  country's  weal.  He  looked 
upon  her  cold  corpse  with  a  tearless  eye ;  he  saw  the  fresh 
green  sod  heaped  over  her ;  and  felt  that  he  had  sacrificed 
his  all,  and  sacrificed  it  in  chase  of  a  phantom. 

He  felt  that  England  was  as  far  from  rational  and  real 
liberty  as  at  the  war's  commencement,  and  how  much 
farther  from  the  blessed  calm  of  an  established  peace.  A 
cold  and  bitter  mood  of  grief  had  fallen  on  him,  obscuring 
all  his  brighter  qualities,  and  overpowering  the  energies 
of  a  mind  once  as  elastic  and  pervading  as  the  tempered 
steel.  It  had  changed  his  very  soul.  It  had  made  him — 
even  more  than  all  the  previous  sorrows  he  had  known, 
the  previous  perils  he  had  faced,  the  previous  disappoint 
ments  he  had  writhed  in  bearing — an  altered,  a  new  man. 
The  brilliant  dreams  and  the  warm  hopes  of  youth  had 
faded  long  ago.  The  high  and  noble  purposes  of  middle 
age,  the  pure  ambition  to  be  a  benefactor,  not  of  his 
countrymen  alone,  but  of  the  universal  human  race,  the 
steady  longing  after  an  honest  and  clear  fame,  the  sacred 
fire  of  patriotism  itself,  were  now,  if  not  extinct,  so  chilled 


THE  LAST  TRIAL.  378 

and  overwhelmed  by  the  dull  apathy  of  settled  woe,  that 
it  will  need  much  again  to  raise  them  into  luminous  and 
active  being 

It  was  just  when  he  was  the  most  absorbed  in  this  sad 
stupor,  some  three  or  four  days  only  after  the  death  of  his 
lost  Sibyl,  that  an  express  arrived  to  rouse  him  from  his 
sullen  musings  among  the  shades  of  Woodleigh,  which  had 
become  once  more  his  own,  he  being  next  of  kin  to  his 
untimely  parted  cousin.  It  was  an  express  from  that  great 
man,  who,  more  than  ever  now,  since  the  decease  of  Charles, 
swayed  as  he  chose  the  destinies  of  England,  craving  his  in 
stant  presence  to  confer  on  matters  of  the  highest  import 
both  to  themselves  and  to  their  country 

It  is  true  that  long  before  this  period,  Sir  Edgar  Arden 
had  ceased  to  feel  that  deep  respect  and  almost  ven 
eration  which  he  once  had  entertained  for  Cromwell. 
He  had  long  found  his  suspicions  growing  daily  and  hourly 
more  strong  ;  daily  and  hourly  more  confirmed  by  overt 
actions.  Still  with  such  wondrous  skill  and  subtlety  had 
the  arch-schemer  wound  along  his  path,  onward,  still  on 
ward,  that  it  was  quite  impossible  to  say  at  what  point  of 
his  ascent,  or  if,  indeed,  at  all,  he  had  passed  the  confines 
of  sincerity  and  patriotism,  to  enter  the  stern  regions  of 
ambition. 

That  Cromwell  at  this  time  enjoyed  a  power  eminently 
great,  and  at  the  same  time  dangerous,  Arden  could  not 
deny ;  that  he  had  attained  to  that  power  by  his  own 
energy,  was  self  apparent ;  but  whether  he  had  framed 
the  course  which  had  exalted  him  according  to  the  dictates 
of  religion  and  of  conscience,  and  so  found  his  own  high 
fortunes  while  seeking  but  for  England's  weal ;  or  wheth 
er  he  had  struggled  forward  to  his  own  grandeur  as  his 
only  goal,  he  could  not  even  now  decide. 

One  thing  he  clearly  saw,  that  the  experiment  had  for 
the  present  failed.  That  by  the  death  of  Charles  tyranny 
was  indeed  put  down — but  put  down  only  to  be  followed 
by  anarchy — or  by  a  tyranny  more  mighty  than  the  former. 
But,  seeing  this,  he  saw  no  present  way  of  extrication  save 
through  the  medium  of  the  very  man  whom  he  suspected, 
whom  he  feared,  the  most.  He  therefore  judged  it  most 
advisable  not  to  permit  the  alienation  which  had  been 


374  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

growing  up  between  them  to  become  absolute ;  but  keep 
ing  a  shrewd  watch  on  all  his  motions,  to  discover,  if  possi 
ble,  what  might  be  his  ulterior  views,  and  so  far  as  his  own 
influence  might  avail,  to  keep  him  in  the  path  of  honesty 
and  honor. 

"  He  can  do  more  for  England  than  any  living  man,"  he 
said  to  himself,  as,  in  obedience  to  the  unexpected  sum 
mons,  he  shook  off  his  lethargy  and  set  his  foot  in  the 
stirrup — "  he  can,  beyond  all  question,  and  let  us  hope  he 
witt.  He  had  high  virtues  once,  no  less  than  wondrous 
talents ;  and  certainly,  I  know  not  why  I  should  assume 
it  as  a  fact  that  they  are  now  extinct.  And  I- — since  I  have 
lost  all  else — since  I  have  worn  away  the  flower  of  my 
years,  wasted  the  sweetness  of  my  whole  existence  in 
struggling  for  my  country,  why  should  I  hesitate  to  pour 
out  the  dregs  of  an  unprized  and  wearisome  existence ;  why 
should  I  doubt  to  cast  away  life  itself,  also,  a  life  which 
only  separates  me  from  her,  if  that  my  life  can  profit 
England  ?  I  will — I  will,  as  I  have  begun,  so  persevere  ! 
Consistency  and  honor  now  alone  are  left  to  me,  and 
never  will  I  disobey  their  dictates.  A  name  which  though 
I  never  shall  transmit  to  others,  I,  at  least,  its  last  owner, 
never  will  disgrace." 

He  took  his  solitary  way  to  London,  and  if  not  the  less 
sad,  was  at  the  least  less  bitterly  absorbed  by  sorrow.  He 
mingled,  with  a  grave  aspect,  certainly,  and  a  subdued  de 
meanor,  in  the  chance  society  of  men,  and  struggled,  not 
all  unsuccessfully,  to  shake  off  a  melancholy  which,  though 
it  was  a  luxury  to  indulge,  he  felt  it  a  duty  to  repress. 

The  third  day  toward  nightfall  found  him  already  in 
the  heart  of  the  metropolis,  which,  under  its  new  masters, 
wore  a  composed  and  steady  aspect  of  society,  not,  indeed, 
very  gay  or  pleasing,  yet  praiseworthy,  at  least,  for  the  en 
tire  absence  of  rude  revelry  or  riot  in  the  crowded  streets. 
Arden  found  Cromwell,  as  when  he  last  had  visited  him,  oc 
cupying  the  royal  chambers  of  Whitehall,  but  with  far  more 
of  pomp  and  show  than  he  had  as  yet  witnessed  about  the 
person  of  the  Independent  leader.  Two  or  three  officers, 
richly  attired,  waited  in  the  anterooms,  and  a  page, 
sumptuously  though  not  gayly  dressed,  opened  the  door 


THE  LAST  TRIAL.  375 

of  his  apartment  to  the  gallant  baronet  with  silent  rev 
erence. 

The  cordial  warmth  which  Oliver  exhibited  would  in 
in  itself  have  called  forth  something  of  suspicion  from  the 
mind  of  Sir  Edgar ;  for,  latterly,  although  not  absolutely 
estranged  from  each  other,  there  had  been  a  passing  cold 
ness,  a  want  of  frank  and  cheerful  confidence  between 
them,  which  caused  the  present  alteration  of  the  general's 
air  and  manner  to  be  very  obvious.  But,  to  confirm  his 
fears,  after  a  short  discourse  on  various  matters  connect 
ed  with  state  policy  and  questions  of  the  day — 

"  You  have  not  heard,  I  trow,  Sir  Edgar,"  Cromwell 
began  abruptly,  after  a  little  pause,  "  you  have  not  heard 
of  the  new  trust  the  parliament  hath  now  of  late  conferred 
on  me  ? — even  the  lord  lieutenancy  of  Ireland,  with  com 
mand  of  the 'forces  needful  to  crush  the  embers  of  this 
accursed  rebellion  that  yet  devours  the  land !" 

"  I  have  not,"  answered  Arden.  "  Have  you  accepted 
it?" 

"  Surely  I  have,"  returned  the  general ;  "  for,  of  a  truth, 
the  commons  house,  ay !  and  the  council  of  state,  also,  were 
very  urgent — yea  unto  the  taking  no  denial.  For  at  the 
first,  I  would  have  fain  denied  it.  Truly  my  soul  .is  sick 
of  war  and  tumult,  and  would  retire  to  the  privacy  of  hum 
ble  and  domestic  life.  But,  as  I  say,  they  would  take  no 
denial.  And  moreover,  after  a  while,  diligently  searching 
the  Lord's  mil,  praying  myself  with  earnest  zeal,  and  prof 
iting,  too,  by  the  prayers  of  better  men,  I  have  been  con 
vinced  that  my  repugnance  to  this  duty  was  not  of  the 
Lord  —  but  a  backsliding,  rather,  and  a  fainting  of  the 
flesh;  a  yielding  to  the  vain  temptations  of  the  world  and 
the  devil.  It  is  not  for  me  to  draw  my  hand  from  oiF  the 
handle  of  the  plough,  when  HE  hath  manifestly  fixed  on 
me  the  task  of  turning  up  the  hard  and  stubborn  glebe." 

"A  powerful  army,  doubtless,  is  assigned  to  you,"  said 
Arden,  half  musing,  half  in  quiring. 

"  Doubtless  !  Twelve  thousand  horse  and  foot ;  the 
picked  men  of  the  host,  that  hath  so  gloriously  worked 
out  the  freedom  of  the  land ;  the  regiments  and  their 
commanders  subject  to  my  own  choice.  One  hundred 
thousand  pounds  of  sterling  silver  in  the  military  chest, 


370  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  all  things  corresponding.  Verily,  by  the  Lord's  help 
soon  shall  we  have  peace  as  settled  in  the  wildest  bog  of 
Ireland  as  in  the  heart  of  London !" 

"  It  is  a  great  trust ! "  Arden  again  answered  coldly, 
"  the  greatest  for  a  citizen.  When  set  you  forth  ?  " 

"  Speedily,"  Cromwell  replied,  "  right  speedily.  But 
ere  I  go,  I  have  yet  one  thing  to  perform.  The  parliament, 
as  not  content  with  these  high  honors  it  hath  done  me, 
commands  me  to  appoint  all  the  chief  officers.  The  mas 
ter  of  the  horse  is  a  high  post,  important,  onerous,  and  of 
great  weight.  Now,  Edgar  Arden,  though  we  have  dif 
fered  somewhat  lately,  I  do  know  you  able,  valiant,  honest, 
and  trusty — such  are  the  attributes  needful  for  this  great 
office — go  with  me — it  is  yours." 

"I  thank  you,"  Edgar  replied,  perfectly  unmoved. 
"  Think  me  not  ignorant  of  the  honor,  nor  yet  ungrate 
ful  when  I  decline  that  honor.  In  truth,  I  am  sick  of 
blood — blood  of  my  countrymen.  I  would  to  God  no 
drop  of  it  had  been  shed  here  in  England  ;  for  I  do  fear 
me  very  much  it  hath  been  shed  in  vain." 

Oliver  was  evidently  discomposed ;  he  rose  abruptly, 
and  took  many  turns  about  the  room,  muttering  to  him 
self;  then  stopping  suddenly, 

"  Mark  me,"  he  said !  "  I  love  you,  Edgar  Arden,  I  have 
loved  you  ever — yea,  since  that  first  night  when  we  met 
nigh  Royston — I  have  ever  felt  that  in  you  there  is  an  hones 
ty  different  from  that  of  men.  You  preach  not,  neither  do 
you  pray  much  in  public,  yet  I  do  well  believe  you  have 
more  true  religion  than  half  the  saints  of  the  land.  You 
can  fight,  too,  with  the  foremost — and  counsel  better  than 
the  wisest.  You  must  go  with  me.  You  must  strike  on 
my  side.  Surely  the  Lord  shall  yet  do  greater  things  for 
this  regenerate  land  than  he  hath  done  already — though 
wondrous  are  his  works  and  great  his  loving-kindness — 
and  it  is  graven  in  my  heart  within  me,  that  by  me  shall 
he  do  them,  although  I  be  but  a  rough  instrument,  a 
blunt  and  edgeless  tool,  for  his  omnipotent  right  hand. 
Go  with  me,  now,  go  with  me — and  I  say  not  that  I  will 
make  you  great— for,  of  a  truth,  it  is  not  for  a  grovelling 
worm  upon  the  earth  to  speak  of  making  earthworms  great. 
Creation  is  the  Lord's  only — but  I  do  say  that  iny  for- 


THE  LAST  TRIAL.  377 

tunes  shall  be  thy  fortunes,  also,  and  my  hopes  thine. 
Lo  !  you,  I  have  a  daughter — one  yet  a  maid,  comely,  too, 
in  the  flesh,  discreet,  and  virtuous,  and  sage,  even  my 
youngest,  Frances.  Again !  I  say  not  that  I  will  give  her 
to  thee  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock ;  for,  truly,  hearts  can 
not  be  given  and  transferred  like  golden  dross  ;  neither 
do  I  esteem  it  wise  or  lawful  for  a  parent  to  do  any  force 
to  those  most  strong  and  inward  inclinations.  But  this 
I  will  say — for  it  is  a  truth,  I  do  profess  to  you  a  very 
truth — that  I  believe  the  maid  hath  not  looked  hitherto 
on  any  man  to  love  him — and  that  rather  than  any  man 
on  earth  I  would  see  thee  my  son-in-law.  Thine  own  high 
qualities,  so  that  the  Lord  look  down  upon  this  work,  will 
do  the  rest.  Give  me  thine  hand  ;  say  that  thou  wilt  go 
with  me.  Surely  thou  shalt  be  next  in  power  unto  my 
self — next  in  the  glory  of  the  deeds  we  shall  accomplish 
in  the  Lord's  cause  and  England's.  Thou  shalt  see  yet 
and  share  in  very  mighty  changes — " 

"  I  were  dishonest,"  Sir  Edgar  interrupted  him,  with 
vehemence,  "I  were  dishonest — a  base  traitor  to  my 
cause,  my  conscience,  and  my  country,  did  I  pretend  to 
doubt  your  meaning.  I  read  you,  sir,  I  read  you  as  you 
were  an  open  book  before  me — but  me  you  know  not, 
nor  can  comprehend  at  all.  Neither — great  as  you  are, 
and  greater  as  you  wish  to  be — can  you  tempt  me  one 
inch  from  the  straight  path.  My  heart,  General  Crom 
well,  is  in  the  grave,  in  the  grave  with  that  peerless  wo 
man  who  once,  at  your  hands,  saved  me  from  a  father's 
madness.  Not — not  to  be  a  queen's  husband,  would  I 
forego  the  memory  of  her  on  earth — the  hope  of  her  in 
heaven.  As  for  what  you  call  greatness,  I  care  not  for 
it ;  nay,  I  loathe  it.  For  it  is  viilany — dishonor — shame. 
Farewell !  I  leave  you,  sir,  in  sorrow — in  strong  and  bit 
ter  sorrow.  Fairly  I  tell  you  to  your  face,  I  do  suspect 
you  very  deeply ;  and  if  it  be  as  I  suspect,  I  will  oppose 
you  to  the  death.  Pause,  pause — and  oh  !  consider — 
it  is  a  little  thing  to  be  a  king ! — a  tyrant ! — a  usurper ! 
It  is  the  mightiest  of  all  things  to  have  the  power  to  be 
so,  and  the  virtue  to  decline  that  power !  Be,  as  you  may 
be,  your  country's  friend,  its  guardian,  and  its  father. 
Beware !  I  say  beware  how  you  attempt  to  be  its  king. 


378  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Better  is  a  pure  conscience  than  a  golden  bawble  !  He 
who  cannot  err  hath  said,  '  what  shall  it  avail  a  man  to 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul !'  You  say 
you  love  me — I  did  once  love — honor — esteem — ay  !  ven 
erate  you — you,  Oliver  Cromwell.  And  rather  would  I 
hew  off  the  best  limb  of  my  body  than  see  you  play  the 
part  which  I  now  fear  you  meditate.  Answer  me  not, 
sir,  no  profession  can  convince  me.  Actions — actions,  sir 
— actions  only  can  prove  to  me  your  truth.  Sincerely  I 
pray  God  that  I  may  be  in  error ;  sincerely  I  pray  God  you 
may  be  strengthened  to  cast  temptation  far  behind  you ; 
to  be  the  great,  the  glorious,  the  immortal  benefactor  of 
your  land,  you  may  be,  if  you  will.  Go,  then,  to  Ireland 
— go — do  your  duty ;  I  will  adhere  to  mine.  My  sword  is 
in  its  scabbard,never  to  come  forth  more  unless  my  coun 
try  shall  require  it  against  a  foreign  foe  or — a  domestic 
tyrant !  Farewell !  may  heaven  give  you  strength — fare 
well  ! " 

"  Do  we  part  friends  ?  "  asked  Oliver,  whose  strong 
nerves  were  greatly  shaken,  and  whose  mind,  wholly  im 
passible  at  ordinary  moments  to  such  feelings,  was  pene 
trated  by  a  sense  of  absolute  humiliation,  and  overpow 
ered  by  the  sublime  and  genuine  force  of  real  virtue  ;  "  do 
we  part  friends  ?  " 

"And  shall,  I  trust,  meet  friends!"  Edgar  replied, 
clasping  his  hand  with  fervor,  while  a  tear  stood  in  his 
dark  eye.  You  have  no  truer  friend,  no  more  sincere 
admirer — be  but  yourself — within  the  four  seas  that  gird 
Britain.  May  heaven  protect  you,  and  preserve  you — as 
I  have  thought  you,  as  I  would  think  you  ever — noble." 

Again  he  grasped  his  hand,  wrung  it  hard,  turned,  and 
left  the  room. 

"  Can  it  be  so  ?  "  cried  Cromwell,  in  a  low,  thoughtful 
tone,  "  can  it  be  so  ? — and  hath  he  read  my  inward  soul 
— read  it  more  truly  than  myself?  "  He  strode  across 
the  room  with  a  loud  step  and  a  kingly  port.  "  Not  king 
— but  the  first  man  in  England !  Ha !  "  but  again  his 
proud  glance  sank,  his  firm  step  faltered,  and  he  struck 
his  bosom  with  the  eager  violence  of  passionate  repentance. 
"Avaunt!  avaunt!  get  thee  behind  me! — no!  no!  he 
erred!  he  erred!  yet  had  he  well-nigh  made  me  deem  my- 


THE  LAST   TRIAL.  879 

self  a  villain !  c  Not  king,  but  the  first  man  in  England ! ' 
Well,  first  in  virtue — first  in  sincere  God-seeking  piety — 
first,  it  may  be,  in  good  report — which  men  call  fame — 
in  the  Lord's  favor  and  the  people's  love.  But  not — not 
first  in  power,  or  wealth,  or  rank.  Not  first,  as  that  bold 
Arden  said,  in  villany.  No !  no !  he  erred,  and  I  am 
sound  at  heart — my  breast  is  proof  against  thy  devices. 
Avaunt,  thou  crafty  devil !  I  am  strong — strong — strong 
in  virtue ! " 

He  saw  not  Arden  any  more  for  many  a  year  of  peril 
and  success ;  of  labor  and  of  sin ;  and  of  the  world's  arch 
phantom,  glory. 

But  six  days  afterward,  Edgar  beheld  him,  seated  in 
his  coach  of  state,  dragged  by  six  stately  horses,  tossing 
their  plumed  heads  and  shaking  their  superb  caparisons 
as  proudly  as  though  they  were  conscious  of  the  freight 
they  drew  along  the  crowded  streets. 

He  marked  the  quiet  air  of  exultation  and  of  triumph 
that  sat  on  his  firm  lip  and  glanced  from  his  deep  eye. 
He  noted  the  unwonted  splendor — the  gorgeous  dresses 
and  accoutrements  of  his  life-guard — eighty  young  men 
— majors  and  colonels  of  the  army,  mounted  more  splen 
didly  than  the  pretorian  band  of  any  king  in  Europe, 
sheathed  in  bright  steel,  with  waving  plumes,  and  floating 
scarfs,  and  all  the  bravery  of  the  cavaliers. 

He  saw  the  haughty  bearing  of  his  son  Henry,  his  lieu 
tenant  and  master  of  the  horse.  He  saw  the  soldiery,  in 
their  magnificent  array,  trooping  along,  with  their  proud 
banners  flaunting  in  the  summer  sunshine,  and  the  tri 
umphant  clangor  of  their  military  music  waking  the  mer 
riest  echoes  behind  their  adored  leader ;  and,  above  all, 
he  heard  the  thundering  acclamations  of  the  multitude 
as  that  pomp  swept  along. 

Then,  with  a  heavy  sigh,  he  turned  from  that  sight,  in 
all  other  eyes  so  glorious  and  majestic — a  sigh  for  Crom 
well's  fame  ! — a  sigh  for  England's  peace  ! 


OLIVEH  CKOMWELL. 


BOOK  IV. 


Now  could  I  Cases, 

Name  to  thee  a  man  tnost  like  this  night, 
That  thunders,  lightens,  opens  graves,  and  roars 
As  doth  the  lion  in  the  Capitol ; 
A  man  no  mightier  than  thyself,  or  me, 
In  personal  action;  yet  prodigious  grown, 
And  fearful,  as  these  strange  eruptions  are. 

Caeca..  "Pis  Ciesar  that  you  mean  :  is  it  not,  Cassias? 
SHAKSPEAKE — Julius 


BOOK 


CHAPTER  I. 


D UNBAR. 

And  Duubar  field  resound  thy  praises  loud. 

MILTON'S  SONNBIS. 

The  stubborn  spearmen  still  made  good 

Their  dark  impenetrable  wood, 

Each  stepping  where  his  comrade  stood, 

The  instant  that  he  fell. 
No  thought  was  there  of  dastard  flight ; 
Linked  in  the  serried  phalanx  tight, 
Groom  fought  like  noble,  squire  like  knight, 

As  fearlessly  and  well. 

MARMION. 

ONCE  more  upon  the  charger's  back  !  once  more  among 
the  trumpets ! 

A  year  had  passed  since  Cromwell,  invested  with  his 
new  dignity  of  lord-lieutenant,  landed  in  Dublin  Bay ;  a 
year,  during  the  course  of  which  his  arms,  attended  every 
where  by  victory,  and  edged  by  deadly  vengeance,  had 
swept  like  a  tornado  over  devoted  Ireland. 

Her  strongest  holds  were  levelled  to  the  dust,  piles  of 
fire-blackened  stones  quenched  with  the  life-blood  of  their 
massacred  defendants.  It  was  a  year  of  merciless  des 
truction,  of  unsparing,  ^discriminating  slaughter,  a  year 
which  cast  a  deep  stain  on  the  name  of  Cromwell,  never 
before  attainted  by  the  dark  charge  of  cruelty ;  a  year, 
the  miseries  of  which  were  such  that  they  have  branded 
that  name  on  the  memories  of  the  Irish  with  such  imper 
ishable  hate,  that,  even  to  this  day,  their  direst  maledic 
tion  is,  "  the  curse  of  Cromwell  be  upon  you." 

From  his  career  of  victory  and  havoc,  Oliver  was  re- 


384  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

called  in  the  earlier  months  of  1650,  to  return  to  England 
and  oppose  the  prince  of  Wales,  who,  having  landed  in 
the  north,  had  been  proclaimed  and  crowned  the  King  of 
Scots,  and,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  was  preparing  to 
assert  his  rights.  With  his  accustomed  energy,  he  in 
stantly  appointed  Ireton  his  lord  deputy  and  Ludlow  his 
lieutenant  of  the  horse,  delegating  all  his  powers  to  them, 
and  leaving  them  to  finish  what  he  had  so  effectually  set 
in  motion ;  and  in  a  very  short  space  was  in  London  to 
receive  the  parliament's  instructions. 

Here  he  was  welcomed  with  the  highest  honors  and 
rewards ;  and,  after  some  delay,  owing  to  the  refusal  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  who  was  himself  of  that  persuasion,  to  com 
mand  against  the  Scottish  Presbyterians — a  refusal  which, 
with  much  urgency,  and,  it  would  seem,  with  real  and  un 
feigned  sincerity,  Oliver  strove  to  combat — he  set  forth,  in 
vested  with  the  supreme  command  of  the  land  forces  of  the 
parliament,  to  crush,  as  was  expected,  at  a  single  blow,  the 
power  of  the  Scottish  royalists,  and  lead  the  second 
Charles  in  triumph  to  the  footstool  of  the  proud  republi 
cans,  or  to  expel  him  from  the  kingdom  of  his  fathers  a 
despairing  fugitive. 

In  this  their  overweening  confidence,  however,  the 
English  government  were  for  a  time  disappointed ;  for, 
having  crossed  the  Tweed,  and  advanced  almost  to  the 
walls  "of  Edinburgh  before  the  last  days  of  July,  their 
general  was  so  far  from  gaining  any  real  or  definitive  ad 
vantage,  that,  after  two  or  three  smartly-contested  skir 
mishes,  and  much  maneuvering  against  the  veteran  Lesley, 
who  resolutely  declined  a  general  action,  he  was  com 
pelled,  by  want  of  forage  and  provisions,  to  reship  five 
hundred  of  his  men  from  Musselburgh  for  Berwick,  and 
Avith  the  remnant,  described  by  one  of  his  best  officers  as 
"  a  poor,  shattered,  hungry,  and  discouraged  army,"  to 
fall  back  in  some  confusion  on  Dunbar,  where  he  might  be 
supported  by  his  fleet  and  storeships. 

Having  been  pressed  so  closely  by  the  Scottish  horse 
on  his  retreat  from  Musselburgh  to  Haddington  that  he 
was  at  one  time  in  much  danger — his  rear-guard,  which 
had  been  outstripped  by  the  centre  and  advance,  being 
exposed  for  a  short  time  to  the  chance  of  an  attack  from 


DUNBAR.  385 

the  whole  power  of  the  Scots — by  favor  of  a  misty 
night  he  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  Dunbar  late  in  the 
evening  of  the  first  day  of  September. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second,  Oliver's  army  lying  in  a 
low,  swampy  plain,  with  an  exhausted  country  in  their 
rear,  a  mountainous  ridge  held  by  a  superior  force  in 
front,  a  stormy  and  tempestuous  sea  upon  their  right,  and 
the  weather  such  as  to  prevent  any  communication  with 
the  fleet,  scarce  any  situation  can  be  fancied  more  des 
perate  and  appalling  than  that  of  the  invaders. 

Throughout  that  morning  he  saw  the  host  of  Lesley 
holding  the  hill  with  resolute  determination,  in  a  position 
of  such  formidable  strength  that  he  himself  has  mentioned 
it  as  one  wherein  u  ten  men  were  better  to  hinder  than  a 
hundred  to  make  way." 

Below  this  hill  was  a  small  narrow  plain,  running  down 
on  the  right  hand  to  the  sea,  between  the  ridge  then  oc 
cupied  by  Lesley  and  a  deep  cleugh  or  dell,  through 
which  a  rapid  and  impetuous  stream  found  its  way  to  the 
German  Ocean,  into  which  it  falls  at  Broxmouth  Park. 
But,  toward  evening,  he  perceived  a  movement  in  the 
hostile  lines,  and  shortly  afterward,  a  mighty  shout  rang 
on  his  ears.  Immediately  he  leaped  upon  his  horse,  and, 
galloping  forth  with  a  handful  of  his  chosen  guard,  rode 
to  the  brink  of  the  ravine,  from  which  he  might  behold 
the  Scottish  ranks  pouring  tumultuously  down  from  their 
commanding  station  into  that  narrow  strip  whereon  their 
very  numbers  would  but  operate  against  themselves,  vo 
ciferously  calling  on  their  officers  to  "  lead  them  down  to 
Ramoth  Gilead  that  they  might  slay  the  foe — even  the 
blasphemous  accursed  Philistine !  " 

For  a  while  he  gazed  steadily  upon  them  without  speak 
ing  ;  and,  by  the  curl  upon  his  lip,  and  the  deep  sneer  of 
his  expressive  nostril,  many  of  those  around  him  fancied 
that  he  saw  and  detected  some  deep  purpose  in  the  hos 
tile  movement ;  but  when  band  after  band  came  rushing 
down,  column  after  column  of  dark  pikemen,  brigade  af 
ter  brigade  of  guns,  and,  finally,  the  horse  and  the  re 
serve,  with  Scotland's  royal  banner,  shouting,  "  The  sword 
of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  » — their  favorite  war-cry  —the 
Q  25 


OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


doom  which  had  sat  upon  his  brow  for  many  days  passed 
suddenly  and  was  succeeded  by  a  wild  gleam  of  3oy     ^ 

"The  Lord,"  he  cried,  flinging  his  arm  aloft,  and  giv- 
ino-  the  spur  to  his  charger  till  he  plunged  and  bolted  from 
the  earth— "the  Lord  of  Hosts,  he  hath  delivered  them 
into  mine  hands!  »  and— while  the  numbers  of  the  Scot 
tish  vastly  superior  to  his  own,  and  three  times  more  than 
could  be  marshalled  fittingly  upon  that  battle-ground 
were  drawing  up,  as  best  they  might,  their  crowded  and 
disordered  ranks,  where  they  had  neither  room  to  fight, 
nor  any  way  by  which  to  fly  if  routed— he  coolly  recon 
noitred  the  ravine,  passable  only  at  one  point,  and  that, 
though  pervious  even  to  artillery,  a  rugged  ford,  be 
tween  steep  banks,  shadowed  with  timber-trees,  and 
domineered  by  earthy  mounds  scarped  naturally  by  the 
wintry  floods. 

Having  determined  instantly,  in  his  own  mind,  on  an 
attack  en  masse  upon  the  morrow,  he  ordered  an  advanced 
guard  of  horse  and  foot  to  occupy  this  all-important  sta 
tion  ;  selected  nine  of  his  best  regiments  to  force  the  pas- 
sao-e  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  day  ;  and  then,  announcing 
his  design  to  his  assembled  officers  in  council,  and  order 
ing  all  things  to  be  in  preparation  for  the  attack  with  the 
first  glimmering  of  the  east,  threw  himself  down  on  his 
camp  bed  without  removing  any  part  of  his  attire,  and 
slept  so  soundly  that  his  attendants  had  110  easy  task  to 
rouse  him  from  his  dreamless  and  untroubled  slumbers 
when  the  appointed  hour  had  arrived. 

Before  he  was  in  the  saddle  day  had  dawned  iully ;  and 
then,  having  relied  on  Lambert  for  the  due  execution  of 
the  orders  on  which  his  plan  depended,  he  galloped  to  the 
front,  expecting  to  find  all  in  readiness,  and  wondering 
that  his  artillery  was  not  yet  heard,  covering  the  passage 
of  his  troops.  He  reached  the  advanced  lines,  and  all  was 
in  confusion.  During  the  night,  Lesley,  aware  of  the  im 
portance  of  that  point,  had  completely  cut  off  the  guard 
detached  for  the  defense  of  the  ravine— so  completely, 
indeed,  that  not  a  soldier  had  escaped  to  bear  the  tidings 
of  defeat  to  his  superiors— and  occupied  it  with  a  force 
equal  at  least  to  that  which  Cromwell  had  appointed  to 
oppose  him. 


DtTNTBAR.  387 

The  sky  was  gray  already,  but  the  approach  of  morning 
was  delayed,  or,  at  the  least,  obscured,  by  a  thick  mist 
arising  from  the  seaboard,  and  spreading  over  the  flat 
land  on  which  both  armies  had  slept  upon  their  weapons 
in  grim  preparation  for  the  coming  strife.  A  powerful 
horse-regiment,  which  had  been  chosen  to  advance  the 
foremost,  was  in  the  very  act  of  passing ;  some  having 
crossed  the  stream,  and  now  laboriously  struggling  up  the 
banks  on  the  Scotch  side,  and  the  rest  even  now  battling 
with  the  heavy  current,  when  a  tremendous  fire  of  mus 
ketry  and  ordnance  was  poured  upon  them  while  in  confu 
sion  ;  and  when,  despite  this  fearful  obstacle,  they  forced 
the  pass,  they  were  charged  instantly,  and  thrown  into 
disorder  by  a  brigade  of  cuirassiers  appointed  for  thi& 
duty  by  the  veteran  Lesley. 

While  they  were  fighting  with  a  desperate  obstinacy, 
which,  had  they  been  relieved  or  reenforced,  would  even 
yet  have  rendered  them  victorious,  the  infantry,  who,  in 
advancing  to  support  them,  had  suffered  terribly  by  the 
well-served  artillery  of  the  Presbyterians,  were  in  their 
turn  charged,  broken,  and  pushed  back  across  the  cleugh 
by  the  pike-regiments,  which  then,  as  in  all  former  periods, 
composed  the  pride  and  strength  of  the  Scotch  host.  Just 
at  this  moment  Cromwell  reached  a  small  eminence  that 
overlooked  the  scene ;  he  saw  his  scheme  well-nigh  frus 
trated  ;  one  of  his  best  brigades  of  horse  almost  annihila 
ted  ;  his  infantry  repulsed ;  his  attack  not  merely  disap 
pointed,  but  on  the  very  point  of  being  turned  against 
himself;  and  in  all  this  time  Lambert,  his  major-general, 
had  not  brought  up  a  single  gun,  much  less  attempted  to 
assist  the  charge,  or  cover  the  retreat  of  his  defeated 
squadrons. 

A  dark  red  flush  rose  to  his  cheek,  his  brow.  His 
eye  flashed  lurid  fire,  as  he  dashed  up  to  the  artillerists, 
fiercely  commanding  them,  with  a  voice  tremulous  and 
hoarse  from  ire — "  Shoot  sharply  and  upon  the  instant, 
or,  as  the  Lord  Jehovah  liveth,  ye  shall  swing  from  these 
oaks  ere  the  sun  rises."  Awed  by  his  threats  and  stim 
ulated  by  his  presence,  they  struggled  hard  to  redeem 
their  error.  Gun  after  gun  belched  forth  its  cloud  of 
gmoke  and  flame,  and  the  shot  plunged,  with  accurate  aim 


388  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  awful  execution,  into  the  serried  masses  of  the  Scotch, 
enabling  the  discomfited  and  shattered  cavalry  to  draw 
off  and  repass  the  stream. 

"  Ride  for  your  life,"  cried  Oliver  to  one,  the  nearest, 
of  his  staff,  "  and  bring  up  my  pike-regiment — mine  own, 
I  say — under  the  trusty  Goff!  and  Jepherson's  horse- 
squadrons,  and  Lumley's  musketeers !  Ride — ride,  I  tell 
thee,  on  the  spur !  And  thou,"  he  added,  "  away  to  Lam 
bert,  Kingsland ;  let  him  bring  up  more  guns — more 
guns!" 

And,  too  impatient  to  await  the  execution  of  his  orders 
in  quiet  inactivity,  he  galloped  furiously,  attended  only 
by  a  slender  staff  and  a  captain's  guard  of  cuirassiers, 
down  to  the  steep  banks  of  the  ford.  There  he  stood, 
coolly  gazing  on  the  advancing  ranks  of  Lesley,  a  mark 
for  the  artillery,  and  even  for  the  small  arms  of  the  Scot 
tish  ;  the  balls  from  which  shivered  the  trees  and  tore  the 
ground  about  him,  but  harmed  not,  strange  to  say,  either 
himself  or  any  of  the  little  group  behind. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  critical  conjuncture — a  stout  division 
of  field-guns  was  whirled  up,  at  the  speed  of  powerful  and 
active  horses,  to  the  brink  opposite  the  very  spot  where 
Cromwell  stood ;  and  now  they  were  unlimbered ;  and 
now,  with  matches  lighted,  the  cannoneers  were  busily 
engaged  directing  them  toward  him.  Then,  from  the 
dark  and  wooded  gorge  beneath,  a  prolonged  flourish  of 
their  trumpets  announced  the  presence  of  the  enemy ; 
who  now,  the  Independents  having  been  forced  back 
bodily  from  their  position,  were  crowding  down,  in  num 
bers  almost  irresistible,  in  their  turn  to  attempt  the  pas 
sage.  The  eye  of  Cromwell  for  the  first  time  grew  anxious, 
and  his  lip  quivered  visibly,  as  with  the  blast  the  heavy 
tramp  of  the  advancing  pikemen  was  heard  above  the  rip 
ple  of  the  water,  and  the  bright  heads  of  their  long  weap 
ons  were  seen  glimmering  above  the  mist-wreaths  which 
partially  obscured  the  ranks  that  bore  them. 

A  mounted  officer  dashed  up  to  him,  spoke  a  few  hur 
ried  words,  and,  ere  the  gloom  had  cleared  from  Crom 
well's  brow,  the  steady  march  of  his  own  regiment  fell 
joyously  upon  his  ear. 

They  halted,  as  the  heads  of  their  long  files  came  up, 


DUNBAR.  389 

abreast  of  their  commander ;  while,  with  their  matches 
ready  lighted,  six  hundred  musketeers,  under  the  gallant 
Lumley,  hastened  to  line  the  hither  verge,  availing  them 
selves  of  every  crag  or  stunted  bush  whereby  to  hide 
themselves,  and  whence  to  pour  their  unseen  volleys  on 
the  host  below. 

With  a  few  words,  fiery,  and  terse,  and  full  of  that  en 
thusiastic  confidence  which  had  so  wonderfully  gained  the 
hearts  of  all  that  followed  him,  Oliver  now  addressed  his 
chosen  veterans.  In  deep,  and,  as  it  might  seem,  sullen 
silence,  they  attended  while  he  spoke ;  but  as  he  ended, 
such  a  shout  arose  as  startled  Lesley's  host  and  roused 
them  from  their  dreams  of  victory.  "Oliver!  Oliver! 
hurrah !  "  and,  with  the  words,  they  rushed  down  head 
long  on  the  spears  of  the  advancing  foe,  shouting  their  cry 
— "  the  Lord !  the  Lord  of  Hosts !  "  Meanwhile  the 
musketry  of  Lumley  was  not  silent.  Bright,  bright,  and 
quick  it  flashed  from  every  gray  stone,  every  bracken 
bush,  and  every  tuft  of  broom  that  fringed  those  broken 
banks.  And,  to  increase  the  din,  ten  guns,  which  Lam 
bert,  wakened  at  length  to  energy,  wheeled  up  at  the  full 
gallop,  opened  their  fire  upon  the  feebler  ordnance  of  the 
Scottish,  killing  the  cannoneers,  dismounting  their  light 
pieces,  and  silencing,  after  a  single  ill-directed  volley,  their 
fruitless  fire. 

Taken  thus  absolutely  by  surprise,  the  Presbyterian 
squadrons  reeled  in  their  turn ;  and  louder  from  the  depths 
of  the  ravine  arose  that  awful  shout,  "The  Lord!  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  !  "  as,  through  the  waters,  whose  dark  cur 
rent,  dark  with  human  gore,  flowed  feebly  now,  choked 
and  obstructed  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying, 
that  irresistible  and  never-conquered  band  charged  on 
ward,  bearing  the  relics  of  the  enemy  before  them,  with 
shriek,  and  yell,  and  execration,  up !  up !  at  the  pike's 
point !  up  to  the  level  ground  whence,  flushed  with  hope 
of  easy  triumph,  they  had  but  now  descended. 

And  still  the  well-aimed  shot  of  Lumley's  skirmishers 
fell  thick  among  the  flyers.  With  half  a  glance  Crom 
well  perceived — and  with  him  to  perceive  was  instantly 
to  profit  by  the  moment  of  advantage.  Putting  himself 
at  the  head  of  Jepherson's  brigade  of  ironsides,  which 


390  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

came  up  at  a  rapid  trot  just  as  Goff's  pikemen  were  ap 
pearing  on  the  farther  brow,  brandishing  high  in  air  his 
formidable  rapier,  and  pointing  with  a  grim  smile  to  the 
strife  raging  and  reeling  opposite,  he  spurred  his  charger 
down  the  bank.  Two  bounds  bore  him  across  the  chasm, 
and,  with  a  louder  clang  of  corslet,  spur,  and  scabbard 
than  had  resounded  yet  that  day,  down  rushed  those  zealot 
horsemen ! 

The  morning  hitherto  had  been  dull,  gloomy,  and  dis 
piriting  ;  but,  as  the  leader  of  the  ironsides  spurred  his 
black  charger  up  the  steep  ascent,  and  paused  an  instant 
there — a  breathing  statue,  bolder,  and  nobler,  and  more 
massively  majestic  than  any  sculpture  from  the  inspired 
chisel  of  the  Greek — contemplating  the  features  of  the 
already  half-gained  battle — for  from  their  right  wing  to 
their  centre  the  whole  army  of  the  covenanters,  crowded 
together  and  unable  to  mano3uvre,  was  reeling  to  and  fro 
in  tumultuous  disarray — just  at  that  instant  the  mist  bodily 
soared  upward,  and  the  broad  glorious  sunlight  streamed 
out  rejoicingly,  kindling  up  all  the  field  of  battle  and  the' 
rich  valley  to  the  right,  and  the  superb  expanse  of  the 
wide  German  Ocean,  now  calm  and  cradling  on  its  azure 
bosom  the  friendly  vessels  of  the  commonwealth,  that 
loomed  like  floating  castles  through  the  dispersing  fog. 

It  was  a  wonderful — a  spirit-stirring  change — and  he 
who  witnessed  its  eifects  the  first,  inspired  by  the  sub 
limity  of  what  he  looked  upon,  struck  by  a  thought  no 
less  sublime,  cried  out,  flinging  his  arm  aloft  in  proud 
anticipation  of  his  coming  triumph — "  Let  God  arise,  and 
let  his  enemies  be  scattered !  " 

The  aspect  of  the  man,  rising,  as  it  were,  suddenly  from 
out  the  bowels  of  the  earth — the  stern  composure  of  his 
halt — the  simultaneous  outburst  of  the  sunbeams — and, 
above  all,  the  wonderful  quotation,  delivered  in  a  voice  so 
loud  as  to  be  heard  by  hundreds  of  both  hosts,  and  yet 
so  passionless  and  clear  as  to  strike  every  heart  with  some 
thing  of  that  awe  which  would  attach  to  the  miraculous — 
completed  what  the  ordinary  means  of  warfare  had  so 
well  commenced. 

Their  broadswords  flashing  in  the  newly-risen  sun 
beams,  and  their  united  voices  pealing  forth,  as  it  were 


DUNBAR.  391 

by  inspiration,  the  apt  words  of  their  leader,  the  ironsides 
swept  onward  to  the  charge ;  and,  without  pause  or  hesi 
tation,  catching  enthusiasm  from  the  cries  of  those  who 
went  before,  regiment  after  regiment  of  the  invaders 
poured  unopposed  over  the  perilous  chasm ;  and,  forming 
as  they  reached  the  level  ground,  plunged  in  with  shot  of 
harquebuss  and  push  of  pike  upon  the  wavering  masses, 
that  could  now  offer  only  an  inert  resistance  to  their  im 
petuous  onset. 

For  a  short  time  the  native  valor  of  the  Scots  sup 
ported  them  after  their  flank  was  turned,  and  their  whole 
line  confused  and  shaken  beyond  all  hope  of  restoration. 
For  a  short  time  they  stood  firm  with  their  serried  spears 
— shoulder  to  shoulder — foot  to  foot — when  one  man  fell, 
another  stepping  instantly  into  his  place — and  only  ceas 
ing  to  resist  when  each  had  ceased  to  live. 

But,  charged  front,  flank,  and  rear,  by  horse  and  foot, 
pell-mell,  the  cannon-shot  making  huge  gaps  in  their  dense 
columns,  it  was  impossible  that  they,  or  any  men,  should 
hold  out.  They  broke ;  they  scattered ;  they  retreated 
not,  but  fled ;  in  wild  and  irretrievable  dismay,  pursued, 
cut  down,  and  slaughtered  by  the  fresh  cavalry  of  Crom 
well,  who  for  eight  miles  had  execution  of  the  flyers  ; — 
while  the  triumphant  general,  calling  a  halt  when  he  per 
ceived  the  battle  won,  sang,  with  his  zealot  legions  swell 
ing  the  stormy  chorus,  the  hundred  and  seventeenth  Psalm, 
in  honor  of  that  Lord  who,  as  he  said,  "  after  the  first  re-" 
pulse,  had  given  up  his  enemies  as  stubble  to  the  strong 
arms  and  the  victorious  weapons  of  his  own  elected 
people." 


392  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

CHAPTER  II. 

WORCESTER. 
And  Worcester's  laureate  wreath. 


MILTOK'S  Sonnet*. 


No  blame  be  to  you,  sir;  for  all  was  lost 
*  *  *  The  king  himself 

Of  his  wings  destitute,  the  army  broken, 
And  but  the  backs  of  Britons  seen,  all  flying 
Through  a  straight  lane ;  the  enemy  full-hearted, 
Lolling  the  tongue  with  slaughtering. 

Cymbelwe. 

FOR  several  months  after  the  battle  of  Dunbar  both 
parties  rested  in  comparative  inaction.  Edinburgh  castle, 
after  a  brief  siege,  was  surrendered  by  Dundas,  without, 
indeed,  if  the  assertions  of  the  royalists  are  to  be  credited, 
any  sufficient  reason.  During  the  winter  Oliver  remained 
in  the  metropolis  of  Scotland,  engaged,  for  the  most  part, 
in  disputations  with  the  Presbyterian  clergy,  who  hated 
him  with  bitter  and  incessant  rancor ;  and  here  he  was 
attacked  by  a  sharp  fit  of  ague,  threatening  to  undermine 
his  constitution,  and  actually  reducing  him  so  low  that  it 
was  early  in  July  before  he  was  prepared  to  take  the 
field. 

Meanwhile,  Charles  had  been  crowned  at  Perth,  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  1651,  king  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  most  of  the  nobles  being  present  in  their  robes 
of  state  and  coronets ;  had  sworn  both  to  the  "  National 
Covenant"  and  to  the  "League  and  Covenant;"  had 
levied  a  strong  army  under  command  of  the  stout  veteran 
Lesley;  and  had  taken  post,  meaning  to  act  on  the 
defensive,  on  strong  ground  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Torwood. 

Here  for  some  days  the  hostile  armies  faced  each  other, 
mano3uvring  to  gain,  if  possible,  advantages  that  might 
ensure  success ;  Oliver  continually  desiring,  Lesley  as  ob 
stinately  shunning,  any  contact  that  might  lead  to  a  gen 
eral  action.  Skirmishes  occurred  almost  every  day  be- 


WORCESTER.  393 

tween  the  cavalry  and  outposts ;  but  none  of  much  im 
portance,  whether  from  loss  sustained  or  permanent  re 
sults  on  the  campaign ;  till,  at  last,  wearied  by  a  game  in 
which  he  had  sagacity  to  see  that  he  in  the  long  run  must 
be  the  loser,  Cromwell  transported  his  whole  army  into 
Fife,  besieging  and  in  two  days  making  himself  the  mas 
ter  of  the  town  of  Perth.  His  object  in  this  bold  ma 
noeuvre  was  to  draw  down  the  Scottish  army  from  its 
ground  of  vantage,  and  in  this  he  succeeded  fully,  though 
not,  perhaps,  exactly  in  the  manner  he  had  contemplated ; 
for,  breaking  up  his  camp  at  Torwood  on  the  thirty-first, 
Charles  turned  his  face  toward  the  border,  leading  some 
twelve  or  fourteen  thousand  men,  with  the  intent  of  con 
centrating  his  powers  at  Carlisle,  where  he  expected  to  be 
reenforced  by  a  great  rising  of  the  royalists  en  masse 
from  all  the  northern  English  counties. 

The  consternation  throughout  England  at  the  news  of 
this  advance  was  general  and  excessive ;  the  parliament 
were  in  extremity  of  terror  and  suspicion;  Bradshaw 
himself,  stout-hearted  as  he  was  in  public,  privately  owned 
his  fears,  and  more  than  half  suspected  the  good  faith  of 
Cromwell.  Their  terrors  grew  more  and  more  real  daily, 
when  it  was  told  in  London  that  the  cavaliers  of  Lanca 
shire  were  gathering  head  under  Lord  Derby,  and  the 
Presbyterians  threatening  to  make  common  cause  with 
them  under  their  Major-general  Massey.  And,  in  good 
sooth,  had  it  not  been  for  the  insane  fanaticism  of  the 
Scottish  clergy,  who,  with  a  fierce  intolerance  that  ruined 
their  own  cause,  would  suffer  none  to  join  the  standard 
of  the  king  without  subscribing  to  the  covenant,  the 
forces  of  the  royalists  would  have  been  truly  formidable, 
and  might  have,  not  improbably,  succeeded  in  restoring 
Charles  to  his  ancestral  throne.  But  happily  for  England, 
hundreds  of  gallant  cavaliers  and  hundreds  of  stout-hearted 
English  Presbyterians  were  refused  the  miserable  boon 
of  sacrificing  life  and  fortune  in  behalf  of  the  least  grate 
ful  prince  of  an  ungrateful  line ;  because,  forsooth,  they 
would  not  sacrifice  the  interests  also  of  their  native  land 
to  the  intolerant  and  selfish  policy  of  Scotland. 

Still,  though  his  ranks  swelled  not  as  rapidly  as,  under 
a  more  prudent  system,  they  would  assuredly  have  done, 


394  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Charles  marched  with  little  opposition,  and  still  less  real 
loss,  as  far  into  his  southern  kingdom  as  the  fair  town  of 
Worcester.  Lilburne,  indeed,  with  a  small  Independent 
party,  surprised  and  defeated,  at  Wigan-lane,  in  Lanca 
shire,  three  or  four  hundred  gentlemen  commanded  by 
the  Earl  of  Derby ;  who,  himself  desperately  wounded, 
escaped  with  difficulty  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  his 
rude  conquerors.  Lambert  and  Harrison  attempted,  with 
inferior  forces,  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Mersey  with 
the  king ;  but,  after  a  few  ineffectual  charges,  and  offer 
ing  Charles  an  opportunity  of  bringing  on  a  general  ac 
tion,  were  forced  to  draw  off,  and  permit  the  enemy  to 
enter  Worcester  unmolested.  Here  he  was  instantly  pro 
claimed,  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  mob  and  the  good 
wishes,  faint  though  faithful,  of  the  loyal  gentlemen  as 
sembled  in  that  city. 

While  tarrying  here  it  became  visible  to  Charles  and 
his  advisers  that  succor  came  not  in  by  any  means  so 
rapidly  as  they  had  hoped ;  that  the  Welsh  cavaliers,  who 
had  been  most  severely  handled  in  their  last  insurrections, 
were  not  disposed  to  risk  a  general  rising ;  and  that  there 
was  but  little  hope  of  any  common  or  extensive  move 
ment  of  the  royalists,  until  some  such  advantage  should  be 
gained  as  would,  at  least,  be  a  justification  to  their  daring. 

In  this  predicament  it  was  decided  that  they  should 
await  Cromwell's  arrival  from  the  north,  and  give  him 
battle  there  beneath  the  walls  of  Worcester.  Nor,  in 
deed,  had  they  long  to  tarry ;  for,  with  his  wonted  energy 
of  mind  and  motion,  that  able  leader  had  pursued  the  foot 
steps  of  his  enemy,  so  that,  within  a  very  few  days  of  the 
king's  arrival,  the  various  detachments  of  the  pursuing 
army  concentrated  on  the  Severn,  and  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  August  Oliver  joined  in  person,  and  found  at 
his  disposal  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  soldiers  of  all 
arms,  regular  troops  and  militia  both  enumerated. 

No  sooner  were  the  hostile  armies  face  to  face  than 
skirmishes,  in  which  there  was  much  desperate  fighting 
and  much  loss  on  both  sides,  commenced  and  were  con 
tinued  daily.  Lambert,  after  a  well-disputed  contest,  car 
ried  the  bridge  at  Upton,  and  established  his  position, 
Massey  having  been  wounded  so  severely  as  to  be  well- 


WORCESTER.  395 

nigh  hors  de  combat.  The  Scots,  on  the  first  day  of  Sep 
tember,  destroyed  two  bridges  on  the  Team  about  three 
miles  from  Worcester,  and  the  second  was  consumed  in 
preparations  for  reestablishing  the  communication. 

Late  on  that  evening  Oliver  dismounted  from  his 
charger  at  head-quarters,  and  issued  his  directions,  brief, 
luminous,  and  rapid,  for  the  morrow — which,  he  reminded 
his  high-spirited  but  superstitious  officers,  was  his  peculiar 
day  of  glory — "  A  day  whereon,  from  his  childhood,  by 
the  Lord's  wondrous  grace,  up  to  that  present  time,  he 
never  had  attempted  aught  but  he  had  therefrom  reaped 
a  golden  harvest.  Wherefore,"  he  said,  "  let  us  fall  on 
more  boldly,  mindful  of  the  last  anniversary  which  saw 
the  glorious  blessing  at  Dunbar,  and  putting  trust  in  our 
own  stout  right  arms,  and  in  the  aid  of  that  Lord  who  is 
all  in  all ;  trusting,  I  say,  that  this  shall  prove  a  final  and 
decisive  end  to  our  labors  ;  yea !  and  a  crowning  mercy  ! " 
Fleetwood  was  then  commanded  to  force  the  passage  of 
the  Team  at  noon,  when  they  supposed  the  cavaliers 
would  have  abandoned  any  thoughts  of  a  decisive  action 
for  that  day,  while  Cromwell  should  himself  establish  a 
bridge  of  boats  across  the  Severn  at  Bunshill. 

The  morning  of  the  third  broke  gloriously  and  bright. 
The  Independent  forces  were  full  of  ardor  for  the  onset, 
inflamed  even  beyond  their  wont  by  the  prophetic  exhor 
tations  of  their  leader,  who,  himself  kindling  like  a  war- 
horse  to  the  trumpets,  proclaimed  to  them,  no  longer 
darkly  nor  in  doubtful  hints,  but  in  wild,  glowing  elo 
quence,  that  they  should  now  ride  forth  to  glory ;  that 
their  right  hands  should  teach  them  terrible  things ;  that 
they  should  smite  the  sons  of  Zcruiah  utterly,  and  suffer 
not  a  man  of  them  to  live. 

At  the  appointed  hour  Fleetwood  attacked  in  force, 
and,  after  a  most  furious  cannonade,  carried  the  passage  of 
the  Team,  and  was  already  strengthening  his  position, 
when  Charles,  alarmed  by  the  incessant  firing,  despatched 
strong  reinforcements  to  support  his  friends,  with  orders 
at  all  hazards  to  prevent  a  bridge  from  being  formed. 

Again  the  action  became  hot  and  doubtful ;  and  now 
the  Independents  were  forced  back,  although  fighting 
foot  by  foot,  before  the  masses  of  the  royalists ;  but  just 


S96  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

when  these  imagined  their  success  decisive,  Fleetwood  in 
turn  was  reinforced,  and,  acting  with  a  fiery  daring,  that 
was  well  seconded  by  his  stout  veterans,  charged  instantly 
along  his  whole  line  and  repulsed  the  Scots. 

Those  sturdy  troops,  however,  rallied  instantly,  thus 
hoping  to  afford  their  countrymen  a  chance  of  breaking 
Cromwell's  regiments  on  the  other  side  of  the  Severn. 
The  ground  on  which  they  fought,  though  for  the  most 
part  level,  was  intersected  everywhere  by  thick  strong 
fences  of  old  thorn,  with  banks  and  ditches ;  and  each  of 
these  positions  was  lined  with  musketry,  and  was  defend 
ed  with  an  obstinate  and  dogged  courage  that  cost  the 
Independents  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  their  bravest 
soldiers.  One  by  one  they  were  forced,  however,  at  the 
pike's  point ;  and  still,  as  Fleetwood's  men  advanced,  the 
Scotch  pike-regiments  rushed  on,  charging  with  more  of 
spirit  than  they  had  displayed  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  the  war ;  and  still,  when  forced  to  give  way, 
leisurely  and  in  perfect  order,  falling  back  to  the  next 
fence,  which  was  by  this  time  glancing  with  the  sharp 
volleys  of  their  musketeers.  But,  notwithstanding  all 
their  efforts,  ere  nightfall  they  were  driven  from  their 
eveiy  line  with  unexampled  loss,  beaten  at  every  point, 
and  forced  to  seek  for  refuge  in  the  walls  of  Worcester. 

On  the  other  side  the  river,  the  battle  raged  with  equal 
fury  and  almost  equal  doubtfulness  during  five  hours  at 
the  least.  Cromwell,  who  had,  from  a  flying  battery  of 
heavy  guns,  commenced  a  cannonade  upon  the  fort  built 
to  defend  the  main  gate  of  the  town,  and  brought  up  all 
his  forces  in  two  lines  to  assault  the  place,  was  charged  at 
all  points  by  a  general  sally  of  the  whole  infantry  of  the 
king's  army,  who,  issuing  simultaneously  from  several 
gates,  firing  and  cheering  till  the  welkin  rang  as  they 
came  on,  burst  on  the  newly-levied  regiments  and  the 
militia  with  such  enthusiastic  valor,  that  they  drove  them 
back  in  absolute  confusion,  took  Cromwell's  battering 
guns,  and  turned  them  with  effect  on  his  disordered 
squadrons. 

But  at  this  juncture  Charles  was  unequal  to  the  great 
part  which  he  had  to  play  ;  had  he  brought  out  his  caval 
ry,  and  charged  again  while  the  militia  of  the  Indepen- 


WORCESTER.  397 

dents  were  forced  pell-mell  into  the  ranks  of  the  reserve, 
he  hardly  could  have  failed  of  gaming  a  complete  victory. 

But  his  horse,  save  one  squadron,  were  within  the  city  ; 
he  saw  his  error  when  it  was  too  late,  for  the  keen  eye  of 
Cromwell  saw  it  likewise,  and  gave  him  not  a  second's 
space  even  to  struggle  to  redeem  it.  Leading  his  cavalry, 
his  own  invincibles,  at  a  quick  trot,  in  squadrons,  through 
the  intervals  of  the  defeated  regiments,  he  set  up  one  of 
his  triumphant  hymns,  and  sweeping  on  like  a  springtide, 
with  full  five  thousand  horse,  he  beat  the  victors  back, 
regained  the  cannon,  sabreing  the  artillerists  over  their 
guns,  and,  while  his  cavalry  re-formed,  brought  up  the 
whole  of  his  reserve — t»he  conquerors  of  Marston,  Naseby, 
and  Dunbar — column  on  column — with  a  succession  of 
tremendous  charges  that  no  troops  then  in  the  world 
could  have  resisted. 

Scarce  had  his  musketry  and  pikemen  shattered  the 
Scottish  masses,  ere  he  again  came  thundering  down  on 
them  with  his  unrivalled  horse. 

And  back !  back !  they  were  borne,  hopelessly,  irre 
trievably  defeated.  Still  they  had  steadiness  enough  to 
retreat  corps  by  corps,  facing  and  firing  till  all  were  within 
the  walls  who  had  the  power  to  crawl  into  that  too  pre 
carious  place  of  refuge.  The  last  beams  of  the  setting 
sun  glanced  red  and  lurid  on  the  weapons  of  the  last  band 
that  filed  into  the  gates.  A  feeble  cheer  arose ;  and  then 
a  heavy  cannonade  ensued  from  the  whole  line  of  battle 
ments,  compelling  Oliver  to  draw  his  forces  off  for  a  short 
space  of  relaxation  and  repose. 

Short  space  it  was,  however ;  for  twilight  was  yet  lin 
gering  upon  that  fatal  plain  when  Cromwell's  trumpets 
summoned  the  fortress  to  surrender.  The  summons  was 
refused,  and  instantly  a  dozen  rockets  rushed  up  the  dark 
ening  sky ;  the  batteries  opened  for  ten  minutes'  space 
more  furiously  than  ever ;  and  then,  with  Cromwell  per 
sonally  leading  them  on  sword  in  hand,  with  an  appalling 
shout,  the  forlorn  hope  rushed  forward.  With  ladders, 
and  fascines,  and  boarding-ax,  and  pike,  and  every  instru 
ment  most  fearfully  destructive,  they  hurried  to  the  walls, 
which  now,  from  every  porthole,  battlement,  and  embra 
sure,  poured  forth  the  ringing  volleys  of  the  ordnance. 


898  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Scarcely  ten  minutes  passed,  however,  before  the  cannon 
again  ceased  ;  and  the  loud  roar  of  thousands,  blent  with 
the  maddened  shrieks  of  women,  and  all  the  horrid  noises 
of  a  captured  city,  announced  that  all  was  over.  The 
gates  were  instantly  thrown  open,  and  in  poured  the  fu 
rious  zealots.  Throughout  the  livelong  night  the  din, 
and  rage,  and  agony,  and  sacrilege  continued ;  full  fifteen 
hundred  men  were  slaughtered  in  the  streets ;  the  thor 
oughfares  were  choked  with  corpses,  the  kennels  ran  knee- 
deep  with  human  gore. 

The  morning  of  the  fourth  arose,  like  that  of  the  prece 
ding  day,  serene  and  glorious.  The  massacre  was  checked, 
peace  was  restored,  and,  at  the  least,  comparative  tran 
quillity.  The  king  was  a  despairing  fugitive,  with  scarce 
a  hope  remaining  even  of  personal  escape ;  his  army  was 
annihilated ;  his  party  was  no  more ;  his  friends  slaughtered 
or  hopeless  captives;  his  kingdom  numbered,  weighed, 
divided,  and  apportioned ;  and  with  a  steady  countenance, 
lighted  by  no  fiery  exultation,  the  winner  returned  praises 
to  the  Giver  of  all  goodness  for  this  HIS  CROWNING 
MERCY  ! 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    END     OF     THE     RUMP. 

Thou,   too  with  thy  frown 
Annihilated  senates. 

Ctiilde  Harold. 

Can  tyrants  but  by  tyrants  conquer'd  be, 
And  freedom  find  no  champion  and  no  child 
Such  as  Columbia  saw  arise,  when  she 
Sprang  forth  a  Pallas,  armed  and  undefined  ? 

Ibid. 

BY  that  one  blow  the  empire  of  the  parliament  was  con 
firmed  through  every  corner  of  Great  Britain;  the  last 
hope  of  the  Stuarts  was  in  the  dust,  never,  as  it  seemed, 
more  to  rise ;  and  he,  the  conqueror,  was  received  in  the 
metropolis  as  no  scion  of  a  royal  stock  had  ever  yet  been 


THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP.  399 

greeted.  Congratulations,  not  of  tongue-loyalty,  but  of 
sincere  and  grateful  love,  were  showered  upon  him,  as  he 
drove  into  London  in  a  gorgeous  carriage,  escorted  by 
the  speaker  and  the  leading  members  of  the  commons,  the 
mayor  and  sheriffs  of  the  city,  and  an  enormous  multitude 
of  every  age  and  sex,  who  had  gone  out  to  Acton  to  show 
their  gratitude  and  reverence  to  one  whom  many  thought 
it  no  flattery  to  term  the  father  and  the  savior  of  his 
country. 

A  lodging  was  assigned  to  him  in  the  late  residence  of 
England's  monarch.  A  solemn  vote  of  thanks  was  ten 
dered  to  him,  all  the  members  standing,  when  he  resumed 
his  seat.  Petitions,  couched  in  humbler  language  and 
decked  with  loftier  adulation  than  any  sovereign  since 
Elizabeth  had  received  from  his  subjects,  were  sent  up  to 
him  daily.  His  praises  were  hymned  by  a  lyre,  whose 
melody  shall  never  be  forgotten  while  England's  language 
lives  upon  the  earth — the  lyre  of  the  immortal  Milton. 
Although  no  king,  Cromwell  was,  truly,  the  first  man  in 
England.  Modestly,  however,  and  decorously,  and  with 
out  any  symptom  of  disorganizing  or  misproud  ambition, 
did  he  bear  his  high  honors.  Wisdom  and  mercy  marked 
his  elevation  in  no  less  degree  than  energy  and  valor  sig 
nalized  his  rise.  His  first  act  in  the  senate  of  the  regen 
erated  land  was  to  obtain  the  passing  of  a  general  amnesty 
in  the  behalf  of  all  who  had  engaged  in  the  late  war,  with 
the  exception  only  of  some  two  or  three,  so  obstinately 
and  incurably  devoted  to  the  exiled  family  and  hostile  to 
the  commonwealth,  that  public  safety  rendered  their  pub 
lic  punishment  a  measure  not  of  cruelty  or  vengeance,  but 
of  necessity. 

His  next  step  was  to  procure  a  vote  for  taking  into 
consideration  the  expediency  of  fixing  a  time  for  their  own 
dissolution.  The  period  named  accordingly  for  the  ab 
dication  of  their  immense,  and,  thus  far,  on  the  whole  not 
ill-exerted  powers,  was  the  third  day  of  November,  1654 
— a  distance  of  three  years — a  distance  neither  justified 
by  any  rule  or  precedent  of  the  constitution,  nor  in  any 
wise  desirable  or  necessary — but  proving  merely  that 
having,  by  their  exertions  in  past  time,  put  down  the 
tyranny  established  on  the  abuse  of  prerogative,  they 


400  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

were  determined  now  to  build  up  another  tyranny  on  the 
more  popular  but  scarce  less  perilous  abuse  of  privilege. 
Having  originally  met  in  the  year  1640,  they  had  already 
held  the  reins  of  government  for  a  far  longer  time  than 
any  former  parliament,  than  would  have  been  endured  in 
times  less  turbulent ;  than  was,  in  short,  consistent  with 
the  rules  of  sound  and  equitable  policy. 

Having  originally  been  composed  of  the  best,  the  wisest, 
the  most  independent  men  of  England,  they  had  been 
gradually,  but  continually,  reduced  by  death,  desertion, 
and  proscription,  to  a  mere  knot  of  party  politicians,  pos 
sessing  nothing  of  a  parliament  except  the  name,  desirous 
solely  of  their  own  emolument  and  power,  and  as  entirely 
different  from  that  magnificent  assembly  which  had  resist 
ed  the  first  Charles  in  all  the  terrors  of  his  puissant  sover 
eignty,  as  it  is  possible  for  one  deliberative  body  to  be  dif 
ferent  from  another. 

This,  then,  was  the  house  which  now  passed  a  vote  se 
curing  to  itself  the  supreme  power  of  the  realm  for  three 
more  years  at  least,  in  absolute  defiance  of  the  wishes  of 
the  people,  of  the  army,  and  of  the  wisest  patriots  of  the 
kingdom. 

Scotland,  meantime,  subdued  completely  by  the  arms 
of  Cromwell,  wielded  by  Monk,  his  able  deputy,  was  in  a 
state  of  orderly  and  calm  tranquillity  widely  at  variance 
with  the  confused  and  hopeless  anarchy  in  which  it  had 
been  plunged  for  centuries  by  the  fierce  and  continual 
rivalry  of  its  dogmatic  and  intolerant  sectarians.  These 
had  been  now,  at  length,  by  the  wise  energy  of  Oliver, 
compelled  to  endure  one  another  peacefully,  and  to  for 
bear  the  angry  disputations  that  had  incessantly  convulsed 
the  country  since  the  first  era  of  the  reformation. 

Ireland,  unhappy  Ireland,  desolated  by  the  fierce  ven 
geance  of  the  Independent  conquerors,  was,  perforce,  quiet ; 
and  England,  united,  free,  and  wealthy,  required  only  a 
short  interval  of  time,  under  a  firm  and  liberal  govern 
ment,  to  recover  from  the  injuries  which  intestine  discord 
must  bring  upon  a  state,  how  great  soever  may  have  been 
the  benefits  acquired  by  the  means  of  the  keen  remedy, 
which  is  to  nations  as  amputation  to  the  human  frame. 
Abroad,  her  navies  rode  the  ocean  in  triumphant,  if 


THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP.  401 

not  undisputed,  mastery ;  baffling  at  every  fresh  encoun 
ter,  and  subduing  the  brave  and  dogged  Hollanders,  who 
had  so  lately  ploughed  the  narrow  seas  with  brooms  at 
their  mastheads,  as  though  they  would  have  swept  their 
island  foemen  from  their  path  like  worthless  dust ;  bring 
ing  in  unresisted  rich  and  gallant  prizes  of  the  volatile 
and  fiery  Frenchman,  who  dared  not,  so  had  the  genius 
of  the  proud  republic  overcrowed  the  spirit  of  that  valiant 
nation,  offer  resistance  to  that  people  now,  which  they  had 
set  at  naught  while  governed  by  a  king ;  whining  respect 
from  the  cold  and  haughty  Spaniard ;  making  her  fame  as 
universal,  and  her  flag  as  widely  known,  as  winds  could 
blow  or  billows  bear ;  and  justifying  the  high  boast  of 
Oliver,  which  he  had  uttered  years  before  to  Arden,  while 
yet  an  undistinguished  member  in  the  great  council  of 
the  kingdom,  that  the  time  should  come  when  the  qual 
ity  of  Englishman  should  be  as  widely  and  as  greatly 
honored  as  ever  was  the  name  of  antique  Roman. 

It  was,  then,  evident  that  there  was  no  cause  of  fear 
which  should  in  any  degree  sanction  the  continued  usur 
pation,  for  such  indeed  it  was,  of  the  parliamentarian 
party,  who  seemed  at  this  time  to  have  again  determined 
on  trying  the  same  line  of  measures  which  had  failed  so 
signally  before  the  death  of  the  first  Charles. 

Yet  the  commencement  of  the  year  1652  found  them 
still  struggling  to  maintain  the  sway  in  absolute  despite 
of  their  constituents.  At  this  time  England  had  been, 
for  nearly  four  years,  under  the  nominal  form  of  a  repub 
lic.  The  merit  of  successive  parliaments  and  unbiased 
representation  was  on  all  sides  acknowledged,  yet  w^as  no 
step  taken  or  even  contemplated  toward  the  establish 
ment  of  such  forms,  or  to  the  self-dissolution  of  the  pres 
ent  house.  Month  after  month  matters  continued  thus, 
until  another  year  had  well-nigh  joined  its  predecessor  in 
that  great  catacomb — the  past.  The  country  was  dissat 
isfied.  The  army  waxed  indignant,  the  rather  so  that — 
as  before,  in  the  year  1649 — foreseeing  the  determined 
opposition  of  the  soldiery  to  their  unlawful  measures,  the 
commons  once  again  began  to  agitate  the  subjects  of  re 
trenchment  of  expenses  and  the  disbanding  of  one-half 
the  standing  forces. 

26 


402  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Thus  things  went  on,  all  prosperous  abroad,  all  turbu 
lent  at  home  and  dubious,  until  the  month  of  August  in 
the  second  year  after  the  defeat  of  Worcester.  At  this 
time  the  leaders  of  the  army,  which  had  now  reached  the 
"  very  winter  of  their  discontent,"  presented  a  petition  of 
the  host,  by  means  of  a  deputation  of  six  officers,  the  de 
voted  friends  of  Cromwell,  the  boldest  and  most  uncom 
promising  favorers  of  universal  freedom  in  elections  and 
universal  toleration — papistry  alone  excluded — in  religious 
matters. 

A  council  had  been  held  some  days  before  at  Lenthall's 
house,  of  all  the  most  important  personages  of  the  land, 
civil  and  military ;  whereat  it  was  debated  gravely, 
whether  it  would  be  better  to  perpetuate  the  common 
wealth  on  terms  to  be  fixed  now  immutably,  or  to  estab 
lish  once  again  the  government  as  vested  in  a  limited 
mixed  monarchy.  The  officers  in  general  were  adverse 
to  all  form  of  royalty,  as  holding  the  name  "  king,"  alone 
and  in  itself,  subversive  of  true  freedom.  The  lawyers, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  the  sage  Whitelocke  at  their 
head,  maintained  that  the  time-honored  constitution  of 
the  land,  as  comprehending  commons,  lords,  and  king, 
was  suited  better,  both  for  stability  and  safety,  to  the 
feelings  and  the  principles  of  Englishmen,  than  a  new 
form  of  democratic  sway. 

Cromwell,  during  this  council  as  before,  held  himself 
much  aloof;  but,  at  the  last,  when  urged  for  his  opinion, 
admitted  that  he,  "so  far  as  he  had  thought  upon  so 
grave  and  onerous  a  question,  inclined  his  judgment  rath 
er  to  the  last  expressed  position,  could  it  be  any  wise 
decided  what  person  might  be  called  advisedly  to  till  the 
vacant  throne  ;  since,  of  a  truth,  he  thought  not  any  of 
the  idolatrous  and  heaven-condemned  scions  of  the  late 
man  admissible  to  dwell  among,  much  less  to  govern,  this 
regenerate  and  freedom-seeking  people." 

By  some  most  underhanded  means  the  tidings  of  this 
meeting,  and  the  opinions  held  therein  were  treacherously 
carried  to  the  parliament,  and  they  proceeded  instantly  to 
force  a  bill  for  their  own  dissolution  through  the  house, 
encumbered  with  provisions  wholly  at  variance  with  the 
freedom  of  election,  and  obnoxious  to  the  great  bulk  of 


THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP.  403 

the  people.  It  was  in  vain  that  Harrison  conjured  them, 
with  most  moving  eloquence,  to  pause  in  their  career  of 
reckless  and  unprincipled  ambition.  It  was  in  vain.  They 
were  that  instant  on  the  point  of  voting  that  a  new  elec 
tion  should  be  hoiden  for  four-fifths  of  the  members  of  the 
commons,  the  one-fifth  remaining  to  hold  their  seats  for 
a  yet  farther  time,  and  to  possess  the  right  of  sanctioning 
or  disallowing  the  admission  of  the  newly-chosen  dele 
gates,  as  they  might  deem  them  honest  and  worthy  ves 
sels,  or  unsuited  to  the  work  in  hand. 

At  a  late  hour  Oliver,  who  was  waiting  at  Whitehall 
in  his  own  private  chambers,  was  advertised  of  these 
strange  and  unjust  proceedings ;  and,  instantly  command 
ing  a  company  of  soldiers  to  repair  to  the  house,  entered 
and  took  his  seat  among  the  members.  He  was  more 
plainly — nay,  even  slovenly — attired,  than,  when  he  had  ap 
peared  in  public,  at  any  time  for  several  years.  His  dress 
was  of  plain  and  coarse  cloth,  all  black;  doublet,  and 
cloak,  and  hose,  with  stockings  of  gray  worsted  rolled  up 
to  his  mid-thigh.  While  the  debate  continued  he  sat  im 
mersed,  apparently,  in  thought,  and  listening  most  atten 
tively  to  the  opinions  gf  the  different  orators.  The  speak 
er  at  length  rose,  as  if  to  put  the  question  ;  then  beckon 
ing  to  Harrison,  who  sat  opposite  him,  he  stood  up  calmly, 
and,  as  that  officer  approached  him — "  Now  is  the  time!" 
he  said ;  "  now  I  must  do  it !  "  and  forthwith  he  put  off 
his  hat,  and  began  speaking  in  a  mild  tone,  and  more  to 
the  point  than  usual  in  his  harangues,  expressing  his  dis 
approbation,  although  moderately  and  in  measured  terms, 
of  the  motion  before  the  house. 

But  gradually,  as  he  kindled  with  his  subject,  his 
speech  became  more  vehement  and  fiery;  his  words 
rolled  forth  in  one  unbroken  stream  of  bitter  and  severe 
invective,  scorching  and  blighting  as  the  electric  flash ; 
his  features  were  inflamed  and  writhed  with  tremendous 
passion;  his  eyes  lightened;  and  his  whole  frame  ex 
panded  with  a  most  perfect  majesty  of  wrathful  indigna 
tion.  He  rebuked  them  for  their  self-seeking  and  pro- 
faneness ;  their  oftentimes  denial  of  true  justice ;  their 
oppression,  their  inordinate  and  selfish  love  of  power; 
their  neglect  of  the  brave  and  honest  army ;  their  idolizing 


404  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  the  lawyers;  their  trampling  under  foot  the  valiant 
men  who  had  bled  for  them  in  the  field ;  their  tampering 
with  the  false  and  time-serving  Presbyterians. 

"And  for  what,"  he  cried,  with  loud  and  vehement 
tones,  "  for  what  all  this  ?  What  but  to  perpetuate  your 
own  ill-gotten  power,  to  replenish  your  own  empty  purses, 
empty  through  riot,  and  debauchery,  and  bribery,  and 
every  kind  of  ill  which  it  befits  not  you  to  perpetrate — • 
and  which  it  were  to  me  degrading  even  to  mention  or  to 
think  of  1  But  now,  I  say,"  he  went  on,  stamping  fiercely 
on  the  ground,  "  your  time  hath  come  1  The  Lord  he 
hath  disowned  you !  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob  hath  done  with  you !  He  hath  no  need  of 
you  any  more !  Lo,  he  hath  judged  you,  and  cast  you 
forth,  and  chosen  fitter  instruments  to  him,  to  execute 
that  work  in  which  you  have  dishonored  him — " 

"  Order !  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  bolder  of  the  mem 
bers  ;  "  order !  I  rise  to  order.  Never  have  I  heard  any 
language  so  unparliamentary,  so  insolent — the  rather  that 
it  cometh  from  our  own  servant — one  whom  we  have  too 
fondly  cherished — one  whom,  by  raising  to  this  unprece 
dented  and  undue  elevation,  we  have  endued  with  the 
daring  and  the  power  thus  to  brave  us ! " 

For  a  few  moments,  Cromwell  glared  on  the  bold 
speaker,  as  though  astonishment  at  the  excess  of  his  audaci 
ty  had  robbed  him  of  the  faculty  of  speech  ;  then  casting 
his  hat  on  his  disordered  locks,  he  pulled  it  doggedly 
down  upon  his  brows,  and  with  a  stamp  that  made  the 
whole  house  echo,  advancing  on  the  gentleman  who  was 
yet  speaking — "  Come,  sir,"  he  said,  in  a  low  hissing  voice 
through  his  set  teeth,  griping  the  while  his  dagger's  hilt 
as  though  he  would  have  stabbed  him  on  the  spot,  "  come, 
come,  sir,  I  will  put  an  end  to  your  loud  prating !  " 

Then  turning  his  back  suddenly  on  him  whom  he  ad 
dressed,  he  paced  to  and  fro  the  hall,  his  wrhole  face  black 
with  the  blood  which  rushed  to  it  as  violently  as  though 
it  would  have  burst  from  every  pore  and  vein  ;  his  broad 
breast  panting  and  heaving  with  emotion  ;  and  his  entire 
aspect  displaying  the  most  ungovernable  and  tremendous 
passions — "  You  are  no  parliament,  I  say,"  he  shouted  at 


THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP.  405 

the  pitch  of  his  stentorian  voice — "  you  are  no  parliament ! 
Ho  !  bring  them  in ! — without  there ! — bring  them  in  !  " 

There  was  a  sudden  pause ;  a  moment  of  unutterable 
terror.  For  such  was  the  expression  painted  upon  the 
faces  of  the  craven  members  of  the  long  parliament. 
When,  years  before,  a  king  had  dared  to  violate,  in  a  far 
less  degree,  the  privileges  of  that  high  assemblage,  their 
own  undaunted  valor,  fired  by  a  sense  of  right ;  a  proud 
uncompromising  feeling  of  their  own  inborn  worth  ;  had 
well-nigh  armed  those  patriots — for  such  they  were — to 
battle  with  such  weapons  as  chance  afforded  them  against 
the  licensed  cut-throats  of  the  sovereign.  But,  as  the 
door  flew  open,  and  Colonel  Worseley  entered  with  a 
guard  of  twenty  musketeers,  blank  and  base  apprehension 
sat  on  the  pallid  brows  of  three-fourths  of  those  present ; 
nor  did  one  man  of  the  whole  number  offer  to  make  the 
least  resistance,  to  draw  a  sword,  to  raise  a  hand,  or  even 
to  exchange  a  look  with  the  strange  person  who,  from  so 
lately  being  their  servant,  or,  at  best,  their  equal,  had 
thus,  by  one  bold  effort,  rendered  himself  their  master — 
their  unquestioned,  undisputed  master ! 

"  This  is  not  honest !  "  cried  Sir  Henry  Vane,  at  length, 
when  he  had  rallied  from  the  first  surprise.  "  It  is  against 
morality  and  common  honesty  !  " 

Words  cannot  picture,  language  of  man  cannot  de 
scribe  the  change  that  flashed  across  the  speaking  linea 
ments  of  Oliver.  An  instant ;  a  short  instant  only,  ere 
Vane  addressed  him,  all  had  been  violent  and  active  fury, 
lashed,  as  it  were,  by  its  own  goadings  into  a  state 
purely  animal  and  uncontrollable.  Now  the  fierce  glare 
of  anger  instantly  subsided,  leaving  the  face,  for  the  mo 
ment,  passionless  and  vacant  as  an  infant's ;  but,  ere  there 
was  time — not  for  words,  but  for  thought — the  deepest 
sneer  of  scorn,  of  loathing,  and  unutterable,  undisguised 
contempt  succeeded. 

"  Sir  Harry  Vane  !  "  he  replied,  in  a  low  stern  whisper, 
which  drove  the  blood  back  curdling  through  the  veins 
of  him  on  whose  mind  he  had  pounced,  eagle-like,  with 
avenging  talons — "Oh,  Sir  Harry  Vane!  The  Lord  de 
liver  me  from  Sir  Harry  Vane !  Honesty,  arid  Sir  Harry 
Vane !  Morality,  and  Harry  Vane ! — who,  if  he  so  had 


406  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

pleased,  might  have  prevented  this ! — who  is  a  juggler — 
a  mere  hypocrite — and  hath  not  common  honesty  himself? 
A  parliament ! — I  do  profess,  a  precious  parliament ! — of 
drunkards  ! — knaves  !  —  extortioners  ! — adulterers  !  Lo, 
there,"  he  added,  pointing  to  Challoner  "there  sits  a  no 
ted  wine-bibber — a  very  glutton  and  a  drunkard  !  There ! " 
casting  his  eyes  toward  Henry  Marten  and  Sir  Peter 
Went  worth,  "  there  two  most  foul  adulterers !  " 

Then  turning  on  his  heel,  as  if  he  had  already  said 
enough,  he  waved  his  hand  toward  the  soldiers,  and  m  a 
voice  as  quiet  and  unruinVd  as  if  he  had  not  been  in  any 
wise  excited,  commanded  them  to  clear  the  house  ! 

"I,"  exclaimed  Lentliall,  boldly — for,  seeing  that  no 
violence  was  offered,  he  had  recovered  his  scared  spirits — 
"  Zam  the  speaker  of  this  house,  lawfully  by  its  members 
chosen,  and,  save  by  vote  of  those  same  members  or  by 
actual  force,  I  never  will  quit  its  precincts  while  in  life.  " 

Then  Harrison  stepped  slowly  up  the  body  of  the  long 
hall  to  the  chair,  attended  by  two  musketeers ;  he  laid, 
his  hand  on  Lenthall's  shoulder,  and  prayed  him  to  de 
scend  ;  and,  without  farther  words,  he  came  down  from 
his  seat,  and  putting  on  his  hat,  departed  from  the  house 
all  crest-fallen  and  astounded.  Algernon  Sidney  followed 
him  at  once,  though  with  a  statelier  mien  and  bolder  bear 
ing,  eighty  more  of  the  members  moving  with  him  to 
ward  the  door.  While  there  had  seemed  to  be  the  slight 
est  chance  of  any  opposition  to  his  will,  Cromwell  had 
stood  in  silence,  with  his  arms  folded  on  his  breast,  facing 
the  speaker's  chair,  with  a  dark  scowl  upon  his  brow  and 
his  lips  rigidly  compressed ;  but  now,  when  he  perceived 
that  all,  without  more  words,  were  skulking  away  from 
the  house,  he  once  again  addressed  them.  "  It  is  you," 
he  exclaimed,  "  it  is  you  who  have  thrust  this  on  me. 
Night  and  day  have  I  prayed  the  Lord  that  he  would 
slay  me,  rather  than  put  me  on  the  doing  of  this  work." 

"  Then  wherefore  do  it,"  asken  Allen,  bluntly,  ere  he 
left  the  house,  "  if  that  it  be  so  grievous  to  you  ?  There  is 
yet  time  enough  to  undo  that  which  is  already  done — and, 
as  your  conscience  tells  you,  ill  done,  my  Lord  of 
Cromwell ! » 

"Conscience!     Ha!  conscience!   Alderman,"  retorted 


THE  END  OF  THE  RUMP.  407 

Oliver,  "  and  what  did  thine  tell  thee  when  them,  as  treas 
urer  of  the  army,  didst  embezzle  much  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  pounds  to  thine  own  uses?  What  say- 
est  thou  to  that,  good  alderman !  Ho  !  ho !  methinks  I 
have  thee  there.  Guards,  apprehend  this  peculator! 
Away  with  him !  away  with  him !  I  say" — and  he  stamped 
angrily  upon  the  floor  as  to  enforce  his  words — "  until  he 
answers  for  his  deep  misdoings !  " 

Sullen,  humiliated,  and  unpitied,  for  they  had  lost  al 
ready  the  respect  of  honest  men  of  all  denominations,  the 
members  of  that  parliament,  which  had  dethroned  and 
slain  a  powerful  monarch,  destroyed  the  constitution,  and 
disenthralled  the  people  of  a  mighty  nation,  vanquished 
all  foreign  foes,  and  raised  their  country  from  a  secondary 
to  a  first  rate  power  in  Europe,  now  sneaked  away  to  find 
a  miserable  refuge  in  the  despised  obscuiity  of  private 
life,  deserted  by  the  people  in  their  turn,  whom  they  had 
first  deserted  at  the  dictates  of  a  depraved  and  poor 
ambition. 

When  all  had  gone  forth  from  the  hall,  the  worker  of 
this  mighty  revolution  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  mace  which  lay 
upon  the  board  before  the  speaker's  chair — u  What  shall 
we  do,"  he  said,  "  with  this  fool's  bawble  ?  Here,  carry 
it  away ! " 

And,  at  the  word,  a  private  of  the  guard  bore  off  that 
ancient  emblem  of  the  people's  delegated  power,  on  which, 
not  to  preserve  his  life,  Charles  Stuart  would  have  dared 
lay  a  finger  of  offense,  at  the  first  bidding  of  the  simple 
citizen  of  a  small  English  borough,  raised  by  his  own 
strange  sagacity  and  the  interminable  firmness  of  his 
single  will  to  a  far  loftier  station  than  the  proudest  des 
potism  of  the  East. 

He  snatched  the  instrument  of  dissolution  from  the 
trembling  fingers  of  the  clerk ;  ordered  the  great  doors 
to  be  locked ;  and,  girt  by  his  devoted  guard,  returned 
to  his  own  palace  at  Whitehall,  in  all,  save  name,  a  king. 
The  same  day  saw  the  dissolution  of  the  council ;  and, 
ere  the  members  were  forgotten,  little  time  as  elapsed  be 
fore  they  were  so,  the  army  and  the  navy  sent  their  ad 
dresses  up  to  the  lord-general,  declaring  that  they  were 
content  to  live  or  die  in  the  support  of  these  his  measures ; 


408  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  every  corner  of  the  island  resounded  with  the  loud 
hymns  of  the  fanatics,  exulting  that  "  the  great  and  long- 
desired  reformation  was  now  near  the  birth  !  Blessing 
the  God  of  Heaven,  who  had  called  Cromwell  forth  and 
led  him  on,  not  only  in  the  high  places  of  the  field,  but 
also,  among  those  mighty  ones  whom  God  hath  left,  to 
the  dissolving  of  the  late  parliament ! " — rejoicing  that  the 
fifth  monarchy,  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  was  at  hand,  and 
that  the  promised  reign,  the  grand  millennium  of  the 
saints,  was  now  to  be  established  in  the  renovated  com 
monwealth. 

And  he,  the  self-deceiver,  the  fool  of  fancied  destiny, 
waked  through  the  watches  of  the  night  to  seek  the  Lord 
in  prayer ;  to  read  the  oracles  of  the  fates  in  the  unquiet 
workings  of  his  own  restless  spirit ;  to  detect,  in  the  suc 
cess  of  his  ambitious  projects,  projects  unknown  or  dis 
guised  to  his  inmost  soul,  the  wonderful  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecies  of  old ;  to  cry  aloud  in  the  dark  solitude  of 
his  nocturnal  chamber,  "  True  !  true !  It  was  true  that 
the  spirit  thundered  at  midnight  in  mine  ears  !  Lo !  the 
accomplishment  is  here  I  Am  I  not — am  I  not  the  first 
in  England — though  I  be  not  as  yet  called  king  ?  " 


THE  LATIN  SECRETARY.  409 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE     LATIN     SECRETARY. 

Cyriack,  this  three  years'  day  these  eyes  though  clear, 

To  outward  view,  of  blemish  or  of  spot, 

Bereft  of  light,  their  seeing  have  forgot ; 

Nor  to  their  idle  orbs  doth  sight  appear 

Of  sun,  or  moon,  or  star  throughout  the  year 

Or  man  or  woman.     Yet  I  argue  not 

Against  Heaven's  hand  or  will,  nor  bate  a  jot 

Of  heart  or  hope :  but  still  bear  up  and  steer 

Eight  onward.     What  supports  me.  dost  thou  ask  ? 

The  conscience,  friend,   to  have  lost  them  overplied 

In  liberty's  defense,  my  noble   task, 

Of  which  all  Europe  rings  from  side  to  side. 

MILTON  s  Sonneti* 

IN  the  old  parlor,  still  decorated,  although  years  had 
flown,  with  the  same  faded  hangings,  more  faded  now,  of 
dark  green  serge,  before  his  desk  of  ebony,  and  near  a 
sea-coal  fire,  which  threw  a  brilliant,  care-dispelling  light 
upon  the  features  still  comely  and  unwrinkled,  upon  the 
soft  hair  scarcely  streaked  with  any  tinge  of  gray,  and 
the  bright  eye  still  clear  and  vivid  as  though  it  were  not 
robbed  of  its  intelligence,  sat  that  far  greater  and  more 
holy  poet,  who,  as  himself  has  told  us,  did  not 

"Sometimes  forget 

Those  other  two,  equalled  with  him  in  fete^ 
So  were  he  equalled  with  them-  in  renown, 
Blind  Thamyris  and  blind  Mceonides ; " 

but  to  whose  blameless  spirit,  fraught  as  it  was  with 
knowledge  of  his  own  mighty  genius,  it  was  not  given  to 
know  that  he  should  no  less  supersede  in  fame,  in  immor 
tality  of  praise,  the  objects  of  his  emulation,  than  he  ex 
ceeded  them  in  the  solemnity,  the  fervor,  and  the  culti 
vation  of  his  unrivalled  intellect. 

He  sat  not  now,  however,  as  before,  alone ;  for  two 
young  females,  not,  perhaps,  to  speak  strictly,  beautiful, 
but  still  attractive,  and  bearing  in  their  pale  features  un 
doubted  tokens  of  nature's  richest  dower,  high  intellect, 
were  seated  in  the  same  small  apartment.  One,  placed 
R 


410  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

before  the  organ,  had  just  ceased  drawing  from  its  vocal 
tubes  that  flood  of  rich  religious  harmony  which  ever  was 
the  strongest  source  of  inspiration  to  the  soul  of  her  be 
nighted  parent.  The  other,  who  had  just  received  a 
packet  from  a  servitor,  who  was  now  passing  from  the 
parlor,  was  in  the  act  of  opening  it,  speaking  the  while  in 
a  voice  which,  though  more  feminine,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  very  similar  in  its  peculiar  sweetness,  was  still  less 
musically  soft  than  her  father's  tones  of  unmixed  melody. 

"  If  I  err  not,"  she  said,  "this  should  be  from  the  hand 
of  your  much  valued  friend,  Sir  Edgar  Arden." 

"Indeed!  is  it,  indeed  ?"  cried  Milton,  eagerly.  "Dear, 
spirit-wounded  friend — fain  would  I  hear  of  him.  Quick ! 
quick,  my  girl.  Truly  my  soul  thirsts  for  his  tidings,  as 
thirsts  the  panting  hart  for  the  cool  water-brooks !  Is  it 
a  foreign  letter  ?  " 

"  Not  foreign,  sir,"  she  answered,  "  but  surely  from 
your  friend.  It  hath  for  date — 'The  commonwealth's 
ship  Jael,  now  off  Spithead,  June  29.'  I  will  proceed  to 
show  you  the  contents  ; "  and,  without  farther  words,  she 
read  it  out  in  a  clear,  fluent  voice,  her  father  listening  all 
the  time  with  a  most  earnest  and  unwavering  attention  de 
picted  on  his  pregnant  and  expressive  features.  "  How 
shall  I  offer  to  console  you,  my  most  honored  and  beloved 
friend,"  thus  ran  the  letter,  "  under  the  grievous  dispen 
sation  with  which  it  has  seemed  good  to  HIM  who  cannot 
err,  to  make  yet  farther  trial  of  your  excellence.  If  I 
should  set  down  aught,  it  would  but  be,  I  know,  as  weak 
and  whispering  sounds  when  brought  beside  the  power 
ful  and  all-assuaging  harmonies  which  your  own  tutored 
mind,  mature  in  wisdom,  and  superior  no  less  in  fervid 
piety  to  mine  than  in  the  gifts  of  science,  hath  poured 
forth,  in  a  never-ceasing  stream,  to  lull  the  pains  and  min 
ister  to  the  repinings  of  the  flesh.  Condolence,  therefore, 
I  nor  offer — nor  would  you,  I  think,  receive.  Nothing 
except  a  conscience  such  as  yours  can  bear  the  body  up 
beneath  so  sad  a  deprivation — and  such  a  one  can  do 
much  more,  and  doth.  Moreover,  if  in  such  circumstance 
anything  can  be  termed  happy,  happy  it  is  that  your  en 
joyments  are  for  the  most  part  of  that  spiritual  and  inter 
nal  nature,  which  change  of  day  or  night — of  noontide 


THE  LATIN  SECRETARY.  411 

splendor  or  of  everlasting  darkness — can  nothing  take 
away  nor  yet  deteriorate.  Truly  you  have  laid  up  for 
yourself  treasures  '  where  the  moth  and  the  rust  do  not 
corrupt,  nor  thieves  break  through  and  steal.'  I  have 
read  through  your  task,  in  leisure  moments  of  my  peril 
ous  and  weary  watches — your  defense  of  the  English 
people — and  IT  is  A  DEFENSE  !  If  you  had  written  never 
anything  before,  this  should  prove  you  both  patriot  and 
poet — should  win  you  what,  I  fancy,  you,  no  more  than  I, 
esteem  at  an  inordinate  or  priceless  value — the  vain  world's 
voice  of  praise — and  greater  far  than  this,  the  approbation 
of  all  good  and  wise  men  now,  and  the  eternal  reverence 
and  gratitude  of  ages  that  shall  be  hereafter.  But  of 
this  enough !  No  words  of  mine,  alas !  can  remedy  or 
soothe  those  griefs,  if  there  be  any,  which  your  own  high 
philosophy  have  not  removed  already — and,  to  assure  you 
of  my  real  sympathy,  they  are,  I  know,  even  more  need 
less.  Of  that  you  can  want  no  assurance.  I  w^ould  that 
we  could  hold  more  intimate  communion — for  I  have  many 
things  to  say  to  you  which  I  love  not  to  trust  to  paper — 
the  rather  that  that  paper  must  now  pass  under  eyes  not 
yours,  before  its  sense  can  be  transmitted  to  your  ears. 
But  since  we  cannot  converse  freely  face  to  face,  as  in 
more  happy  days  of  old — days  which,  to  both  of  us,  are 
now  but  a  delightful  memory  of  things  that  never  can  re 
turn — why,  we  must  even  interchange  our  sentiments  as 
best  we  may ;  setting  down  what  we  may  in  prudence 
and  with  safety,  and  supplying — each  from  his  own  knowl 
edge  of  the  others'  wonted  train  of  thought  and  feeling — 
that  which  must  be  omitted.  This,  for  my  own  part,  I 
will  entreat  you  to  essay  to  do,  bearing  in  mind  the  last 
important  conversation  which  took  place  between  us — 
with  my  own  fears  concerning  things  and  persons  of  no 
small  weight  in  England,  and  your  assurances  that  those 
my  fears  were  fruitless  and  ill-grounded.  We  have 
learned,  here  in  the  fleet,  but  a  few  months  ago,  how  the 
lord-general"  hath  dissolved  the  parliament  by  actual  and 
armed  violence ;  and  now  we  farther  hear  that  he  doth 
exercise  in  person  all  the  prerogatives  and  duties  of  an 
absolute,  uncontrolled  monarch ;  making,  at  his  own  pleas 
ure,  peace  and  war  ;  signing  and  ratifying  treaties  with 


412  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

foreign  potentates ;  excluding  or  admitting  whom  he  will 
to  the  great  council  of  the  nation ;  bearing  himself,  in 
short,  as  if  he  were  legitimately  and  of  right  the  master 
of  the  liberties  and  lives  of  freeborn,  but,  alas  !  no  more 
free,  Englishmen.  I  may  not  here  disguise  from  you  that, 
shortly  after  the  intelligence  of  his  first  usurpation — for 
such  I,  for  one,  hold  the  dissolution  of  the  parliament,  as 
I  may  say  at  the  pike's  point,  how  worthless  or  inade 
quate  soever  it  might  be — a  general  council  held  by  dele 
gates  from  every  vessel  of  our  victorious  fleet  voted  an 
address  to  the  general,  approving  of  the  measure  which  I 
reprobate,  and  promising  to  live  or  die  in  his  support. 
Nor,  I  imagine,  have  I  any  need  to  state  to  you,  that 
neither  I,  nor  a  far  more  important  person,  to  wit,  our 
great  commander,  Blake,  had  any  share  or  portion  in  this 
vote  or  address — both  of  us,  for  the  time,  holding  our 
selves  content  to  do  our  duty  to  our  country  against  her 
foreign  foes,  whatever  the  complexion  of  her  internal 
policy.  The  flag  of  England  must  not  float  less  superbly 
now  than  when  it  overcanopied  the  crowns  of  our  immor 
tal  sovereigns  of  old.  But  now  I  will  entreat  you,  ere  I 
lay  down  my  pen — which  I  must  do  somewhat  the  more 
in  haste  that  the  last  signal  from  our  admiral  is  to  weigh 
anchor  and  stand  out  to  sea  in  chase  of  a  Dutch  squadron 
— to  inform  me  at  your  leisure  of  the  more  intricate  and 
hidden  motives  of  late  matters  in  the  state.  Whether 
this  man  hath  indeed,  by  his  own  daring  only,  and  at  the 
prompting  of  insatiate  ambition,  compassed  an  usurpation 
so  beyond  all  exception  flagrant  and  audacious,  that  I 
comprehend  not  how  even  his  sagacity  can  cloak  it  in  the 
eyes  of  men  with  a  fair  semblance-— or  whether  the  times 
be  indeed  so  much  out  of  joint,  that  these  most  marvel 
lous  aggressions  on  the  privileges  and  the  liberty  of  par 
liament  can  be  in  anywise  required  or  justified  on  grounds 
of  hindering  greater  anarchy  and  detriment  to  England, 
than  shall  arise  from  this  invasion  of  tune-honored  usages. 
Our  anchor  is  apeak  already ;  and  some  of  our  light  brig- 
antines,  having  slipped  their  cables,  are,  as  we  well  be 
lieve — for  we  may  hear  their  cannon,  although  it  is  so 
hazy  that  we  can  see  scarce  a  league  to  seaward — even 
now  engaged  with  Van  Tromp's  rearmost  vessels.  I  send 


THE  LATIN  SECRETARY.  413 

this  with  the  pilot,  who  shall  despatch  it  by  express  to 
London.  I  pray  you  once  again  write  to  me,  as  to  one 
secluded  from  intelligence  of  all  those  things  which  are 
most  dear  to  him.  We  shall,  't  is  very  like,  put  back  to 
Portsmouth  after  action,  should  it  seem  fit  to  the  great 
Moderator  of  the  universe  to  grant  us  victory,  to  which 
our  endeavors  shall  be  in  nowise  wanting.  To  Him  I  now 
commend  you.  Valeas,  igitur,  baud  immemor  observan- 
tissimi  tui, 

"  EDGAE  ARDEN." 

Several  times  during  the  space  occupied  by  the  recita 
tion  of  this  letter  had  Milton  interrupted  it  by  comments 
to  his  gentle  secretaries  on  its  style,  its  language,  and, 
above  all,  the  noble  sentiments  which  breathed  in  every 
line  of  it.  At  moments  he  was  affected  almost  to  the 
point  of  tears,  and  again,  at  others,  a  bright  benignant 
smile  would  kindle  his  whole  aspect  into  sunny  animation. 
After  his  daughter  had  ceased  reading,  "Kind  heart,"  he 
said — "kind  heart,  and  generous  as  kind.  We  must 
forthwith  reply  to  him.  He  knoweth  not,  moreover,  how 
dear  and  intimate  a  secretary  and  attendant  is  vouchsafed 
to  us  in  our  diurnal  gloom.  Hast  thou  thy  vellum  ready, 
girl,  and  pens  ?  I  will  dictate  forthwith,  for  lo  !  his  let 
ter  hath  been  long  delayed  upon  its  route,  and  he  hath 
anxiously,  I  doubt  not,  looked  for  an  answer  to  his 
queries."  Having  received  an  affirmative  reply  from  her, 
who  had  been  playing  on  the  organ,  and  who  now  placed 
herself  beside  him  at  the  desk,  he  commenced  dictating 
in  his  wonted  voice  of  slow  and  silvery  music. 

"TO    THE    MOST   NOBLE    GENTLEMAN,  THE    MUCH   ESTEEMED 
SIR  EDGAR  ARDEN  : 

"  The  letter  which  you  sent  to  me,  my  true  and  hon 
ored  friend,  addressed  from  Spithead  hither,  previously 
to  the  renowned  and  memorable  victory  of  July,  wherein 
not  only  was  the  indefeasible  and  ancient  rightof  England 
to  be  the  queen  and  mistress  of  the  ocean  waves  perma 
nently  and  triumphantly  established  by  the  tried  arms  of 
our  stout  seamen,  but  that  most  brave  and  dangerous  foe 
— during  whose  lifetime  never  had  the  sturdy  Hollanders 


414  OLIVER  CROMWELL 

yielded  to  us  the  palm — Van  Tromp,  was  laid  at  rest  from 
troubling  us  now  any  more — hath  but  now  reached  me, 
although  frore  winter  is  already  treading  hard  on  the  re 
tiring  footsteps  of  his  more  lusty  predecessor.  Grateful, 
indeed,  and  pleasing  to  my  spirit  are  the  kind  sympathiz- 
ings  which  you  have  therein  displayed  with  my  infirmi 
ties — great,  truly,  is  the  loss  of  light — the  shutting  out 
of  wisdom  from  one  of  its  most  easy  and  familiar  entran 
ces — the  quenching  of  the  finest,  the  most  delicate,  and 
subtile  of  the  senses.  But  surely,  under  this  affliction, 
mighty  and  manifold -all  glory  be  to  Him  who  to  the 
shorn  lamb  tempereth  the  wind — are  still  my  consolations, 
and — truly  I  can  use  the  word  in  its  full  sense — my  joys ! 
First,  do  I  feel  this  proud  conviction,  that,  ere  mine  eyes 
were  sealed  in  night,  they  had  performed  their  task,  not 
negligently,  nor  with  a  niggard  and  reluctant  labor,  but 
with  such  ample  execution,  such  overflowing  measure  of 
success,  that  not  alone  the  cause  which  I  have  labored  to 
uphold,  even  to  the  self-sacrifice  of  God's  first  gift  of  light, 
hath  been  admitted  true  in  every  land  of  Christendom, 
and  I,  its  author,  robed  in  a  vestment  of  such  high  repute 
as  might  compensate  for  any  loss  less  grievous;  but,  more, 
the  ill-advised  and  senseless  wretch  who  dared  to  strive 
against  me  in  the  arena  of  the  schools  hath  paid  for  his 
temerity,  not  only  by  the  utter  deprivation  of  all  renown 
which  might  before  have  been  conceded  him,  but  by  his 
own  decease — perishing  of  the  rankling  hatred  and  mean 
jealousy  which  follows  ever  on  defeat, when  sustained  by 
a  poor,  "base  spirit.  These  things,  then,  are  to  me  a  great 
and  wondrous  consolation — first,  that  I,  in  my  degree, 
have  done  my  duty  to  my  beloved  country — secondly, 
that  to  her  the  sacrifice  hath  not  been  profitless  nor  the 
devotion  unacceptable — and,  thirdly,  that  to  me  it  hath 
brought  that  best  boon  of  the  world's  giving — that  boon 
to  pant  for  which  is,  of  a  truth,  'the  last  infirmity  of  noble 
minds' — a  high,  and,  though  myself  I  say  it,  not  an  un 
merited  renown.  Nor  fancy,  my  kind  friend,  that,  in  my 
blindness,  I  am  deserted  quite  and  robbed  of  natural  en 
joyments — no  !  by  the  gracious  mercy  of  that  Lord  who 
never  casts  us  into  peril,  or  temptation,  or  adversity,  but 
likewise  he  finds  for  us  a  way  of  escape  from  the  same ;  I 


THE  LATIN  SECRETARY.  415 

am  so  piously  attended  by  the  affectionate  and  loving 
cares  of  my  two  daughters,  my  organists,  my  secretaries, 
nurses,  and  companions,  that  less  acutely  do  I  feel  the 
greatness  of  my  loss  than  it  were  easy  for  you  to  imagine. 
Besides,  long  since  have  I  looked  forward  to  this  consum 
mation  of  my  daily  and  nocturnal  labors,  as  to  a  certain  - 
unavoidable  result — and  poor,  indeed,  were  the  resource's 
and  the  energies  of  him  who,  having  long  foreseen  a  com 
ing  evil,  should  lack  the  power  to  reconcile  himself  to  its 
endurance,  when  it  seemed  good  unto  the  Lord  to  send 
it  in  his  own  appointed  time. 

"  Now,  with  regard  to  what  you  say  touching  the  dif 
ficulty  or  the  danger  of  intimate  communion  between  us 
by  espistle — relieve  yourself  from  any  terror — it  is  a  child's 
tongue  which  conveys  the  sense  of  all  the  letters  he  re 
ceives  to  her  blind  parent's  ear — it  is  a  child's  hand  which 
commits   to  writing  each    syllable  that  flows   from   her 
blind   parent's  mouth.     Wherefore,  whatever  you  would 
say  to  me,  write  now,  and  ever,  with  all  fearlessness  and 
freedom,  as  I  will  answer  to  your   queries.     Surely  the 
matters  which  have  caused  so  much  of  grieving  and  anx 
iety  to  your  most  noble  mind,  have  likewise  been  a  stum 
bling-block  to  many.     Needful  it  was  for  England's  weal, 
for  her  salvation  I  might  say,  that  the  self-seeking, carnal- 
minded  junto — who  arrogated  to  themselves  the  rights 
and  titles  of  a  parliament,  and  who,  having  once  liberated, 
were   now  striving  to  enslave  their  country — should  be 
cast  forth  from  the  high  places  of  their  usurpation.     And 
by  whom  could  they  be  cast  forth  save  by  the  excellent 
and  most  wise  person  whom  I  am  grieved  to  see  that  you 
do  still  mistrust  ?     Deeply,  most  deeply  was  he  moved  ; 
and   fervently,  with   tears  and  prayers  continually,    and 
supplications  earnest  and  importunate,  did  he  beseech  the 
Ruler  of  all  mortal  councils  that  this  cup  should  pass  from 
him ;  but   it  might  not   be  granted.     Truly,  had    Crom 
well   been  ambitious,  would  he  at  once  have  yielded  up 
the  power  which  he  for  a  short  time  assumed,  to  a  new 
chosen  parliament,  assembled  at  the  earliest  ?     Truly,  had 
he  so  willed,  he  might  have  then  been  king — but  no !  he 
labored  for  his  country's  weal,  and  he  has  won  it.      And 
again,  if  he  be  now  protector  of  the  land,  wielding  the 


416  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

sword  of  execution,  and  weighing  with  the  balances  of 
justice — I  pray  you,  how  was  he  so  eminently  raised 
above  his  fellows  ?  Did  he  so  elevate  himself,  carving  his 
way  through  patriotic  opposition  to  that  thorny  seat  of 
power  ?  Doth  he  sit  now  upon  unruly  and  unwilling 
necks  of  subjugated  and  rebellious  citizens?  Oh  no! 
But  by  the  resignation  of  the  free  elected  parliament, 
which  succeeded  that  base  remnant  over  whose  fall  not 
one  man  shed  a  tear  in  England,  of  all  their  delegated 
powers — powers  which  they  soon  learned  they  could  not 
profitably  wield,  into  the  hands  of  him  whom  they  saw — 
and  saw  truly — to  be  the  only  person  capable  of  holding 
England's  helm  aright  amid  the  turbulent  and  stormy 
seas  of  foreign  warfare  and  domestic  anarchy.  Remember 
you  how  we  discoursed  one  time  touching  the  possibility 
of  the  existence  of  republics  ?  And  how  I,  dazzled  by  the 
immortal  glare  of  classic  stories,  caught  by  the  light 
which  I  then  deemed  a  star — a  living  star  of  glory — but 
now  have  ascertained  to  be  a  false,  delusive  meteor,  how 
I  contended  that,  as  Rome  and  Greece  were  free  and 
mighty  once,  so  England  should  be  likewise, when  mod 
elled  to  a  form  of  pure  democracy  ?  Do  you  remember 
this — and  your  own  arguments  against  me  ?  Now,  I  con 
fess  it,  you  have  conquered — and  I,  wise  as  I  held  myself, 
was  groping  like  a  benighted  traveller  amid  the  ruined 
labyrinths  and  fallen  shrines  of  false  divinities.  Truly 
there  is  no  tyranny  like  to  the  tyranny  of  multitudes. 
Till  the  majority  of  men  shall  be,  as  you  then  said,  wise 
and  unselfish,  virtuous,  honest,  and  enlightened,  till  then 
it  is  in  vain  to  hope  for  good  from  any  government  ad 
ministered  by  that  majority — that  hundred-headed,  fickle- 
willed,  false-hearted  monster,  which  is  called  the  people. 

"  England  was  tottering  on  the  brink  of  ruin  in  the 
years  that  preceded  the  all-glorious  1649,  and  Oliver 
stepped  in  and  rescued  her  from  lying  the  dishonorable 
victim  of  one  tyrant.  England  again  was  falling  headlong, 
headlong  into  an  abyss  of  anarchy  and  vice,  and  misery 
and  folly,  and  now  again  has  the  same  guardian  of  his 
country,  the  same  great  Oliver,  stepped  in,  and  saved  her 
from  becoming  the  most  miserable  slave  and  harlot  of 
ten  millions,  fiercer  each  one  and  more  tyrannical  than 


THE  LATIN  SECRETARY.  417 

he  who  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  crimes  upon  the  scaffold  of 
Whitehall.  Never,  in  any  former  day,  were  all  men's 
liberties  so  well  defined,  so  jealously  secured,  so  strictly 
and  so  punctually  guarded,  as  they  now  are  ;  never  was 
justice  yet  so  equally  administered  without  respect  of 
persons  or  estates.  Each  man  of  England  can,  indeed,  sit 
now  under  his  own  vine  and  his  own  fig-tree,  fearless,  con 
tent,  and  free.  Happy,  and  virtuous,  and  rich  at  home, 
honored  and  feared  abroad,  succoring  the  oppressed  in 
every  foreign  clime,  riding  the  ocean  in  secure  and  undis 
puted  mastery,  shielding  her  sons,  in  whatsoever  quarter 
of  the  wide  world  they  may  be  wandering,  by  the  mere 
shadow  of  her  name.  This  is  the  lot  of  England  now. 
When  was  it  so  before?  And  now  that  it  has  once  been  won 
for  her,  won  by  her  Great  Protector,  who  shall  e'er  wrest  it 
from  her  ?  when  shall  it  cease  to  be  ?  But  I  grow  warm, 
enthusiastical,  as  who  would  not,  that  knows  him  as  he 
should  be  known,  in  praise  of  this  most  wondrous  man  ? 
I  have  a  boon  to  ask  of  you,  a  boon  which  I  beseech  you, 
by  the  memory  of  those  pleasant  days  when  wre  two  wan 
dered  by  the  classic  waters  of  the  Tiber  and  Ilissus,  when 
we  two  mused  among  the  ruins  of  the  Coliseum  and  the 
palace-tombs  of  the  dead  Ca?sars,  grant  to  me.  It  is  the 
first  I  ever  asked  of  you,  and  you  will  not  refuse  it.  Peace 
is  concluded  with  the  sturdy  Hollanders  ;  our  fleets  may 
float  from  the  white  cliffs  of  Albion  beyond  the  pillars  of 
the  Grecian  hero,  beyond  the  far  Symplegades,  beyond 
the  islands  of  the  blessed,  over  the  vanished  Atalantis, 
even  to  the  free  forest  shores  of  that  great  western  land 
named  of  our  virgin  queen,  and  find  no  flag  to  brave 
them.  Sheath,  then,  your  sword.  England  hath  need  of 
you  at  home.  Return,  return,  and  you  shall  own  me 
right  in  my  opinion  and  Cromwell  clear  in  his  great  office ; 
else  will  I  be  content  that  you  shall  call  me  no  longer 
"  Your  most  affectionate  friend  and  admirer, 

"  JOHN  MILTON. 

*  WESTMINSTER,  tftis  Itth  day  of  Januajy,  1654." 

R*  27 


418  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  PERPETUAL  PROTECTOR. 

"  A  more  than  earthly  crown 
The  dictatorial  wreath." 

He  who  surpasses  or  subdues  mankind 
Must  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below 
Though  high  ab ore  the  sun  of  glory  glow, 
And  far  beneath,  the  earth  and  ocean  spread, 
Round  him  are  icy  rocks,  and  loudly  blow 
Contending  tempests  on  his  naked  head, 
And  thus  reward  the  toils  which  to  those  summits  led. 

Chttde  Harold. 

IT  was  the  evening  of  the  twenty-sixth  of  June,  some 
five  years  later  than  the  date  of  Milton's  letter,  urging 
upon  Sir  Edgar  Arden  the  propriety  of  his  return  to 
England ;  yet,  since  he  had  dictated  it,  the  poet  had  re 
ceived  no  fine  or  token  from  his  friend. 

After  the  peace  which  closed  the  long  and  hard-fought 
struggle  with  the  Hollanders,  and  decided  the  supremacy 
Of  England  on  the  seas,  throwing  up  his  commission,  Ar 
den  had  left  the  navy  ;  nor,  since  that  day,  had  any  tidings 
been  received  of  one  who  had,  a  little  time  before,  so  oc 
cupied  the  general  mouth,  and  played  a  part  so  eminent 
in  that  great  drama — the  World's  Hi  story. 

Such  is  renown  1 — such  popular  applause ! — such  human 
gratitude  I  The  man  who  had  preserved  the  life  of  Oli 
ver  on  Winsley  field ;  who  had  secured  his  victory  on 
Marston  Moor ;  who  had,  to  the  abandonment  of  all  that 
could  have  rendered  his  own  life  happy,  labored  as  the 
most  strenuous  and  faithful  of  that  great  being's  followers^ 
so  long  as  he  believed  him  true  to  England  and  to  him 
self;  who,  with  a  yet  harder  sacrifice,  quitted  his  side  the 
very  moment  he  perceived  the  dawning  symptoms  of 
ambition  in  one  whom  he  had  loved  and  honored— as  men 
but  rarely  love  and  honor.  This  man  was  now  forgotten ; 
forgotten  by  the  land  for  which  he  had  so  deeply  suflered  ; 
forgotten  by  the  friend  he  had  so  deeply  served. 

The  past  anniversary  of  this  day  had  been  a  day  of 


THE  PERPETUAL  PROTECTOR.        419 

splendor  and  rejoicing,  the  night  had  been  one  of  joy, 
festivity,  and  mirth.  From  every  steeple  in  the  huge 
metropolis  the  merry  bells  had  chimed  with  their  most 
jovial  notes,  from  park  and  tower  the  loud  voice  of  the 
cannon  thundered  in  noisy  concert;  from  every  case 
ment  tapers,  and  lamps,  and  torches  sent  forth  unwonted 
radiance ;  and  from  each  court  and  square  huge  bonfires 
streamed  heavenward,  while  by  their  light  the  multitude 
sat  feasting  and  carousing,  to  the  health  of  the  Protector. 
The  past  anniversary  of  this  day  had  witnessed  the  su 
perb  and  solemn  ceremonial  of  his  installation  to  that  of 
fice  which  he  had  filled  with  so  much  dignity  and  honor 
to  himself,  with  so  much  profit  and  advancement  to  his 
country,  during  the  four  preceding  years.  With  all  the 
glorious  preparation,  the  pride,  and  pomp,  and  circum 
stance  which  deck  the  coronation  of  a  monarch,  with 
proclamation  of  the  kings-at-arms,  and  homage  of  bare 
headed  lords,  and  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  and  ad 
dresses  from  the  delegates  of  foreign  potentates,  Oliver 
had  been  decorated  with  a  robe  of  purple  more  splendidly 
elaborate  than  the  attire  of  any  former  king ;  he  had  been 
girded  with  the  rich  sword  of  state ;  he  had  received  a 
sceptre,  massive  with  solid  gold,  with  which  to  sway  the 
destinies  of  England ;  a  noble  copy  of  the  Holy  Writ, 
whereby  to  wield  that  sceptre  rightly.  Generals  had 
borne  his  train ;  the  parliament  had  sanctioned  his  inves 
titure  as  performed  by  its  speaker ;  the  people  had  assent 
ed  !  In  all  but  name,  that  "  feather  in  the  hat,"  which 
adds  not  anything  to  him  who  wears  it ;  that  "  toy  and 
bawble,"  wThich  he  had  oftentimes  rejected,  partly  in  pol 
itic  accordance  to  the  prejudices  of  his  more  fanatical  ad 
visers,  partly  in  superstitious,  although  unconfessed,  obe 
dience  to  the  prophetic  voice  which  had  forewarned  him 
of  his  coming  greatness ;  in  all  but  name,  the  citizen  of 
Huntingdon  was  now  the  KING  OF  ENGLAND. 

Great,  powerful,  triumphant,  unresisted.  His  every 
project  splendidly  successful.  His  every  wish  fulfilled. 
His  love  of  glory,  thirst  of  power,  ambition  to  be  FIRST, 
all  satisfied,  if  not,  indeed,  insatiate.  His  boast,  that  he 
would  make  the  name  of  Englishman  as  potent  and  as  far 
revered  as  ever  was  the  style  of  antique  Roman,  was  com- 


420  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

pleted  to  the  letter.  The  country,  which  he  governed^ 
was  raised  from  the  deepest  degradation  to  the  loftiest 
fame.  His  navies  were  irresistible,  his  armies  everywhere 
victorious,  his  alliance  courted,  and  his  enmity  most  hum 
bly  deprecated  by  dynasties  which,  but  one  century  be 
fore,  and  that,  too,  when  the  most  mighty  of  her  former 
sovereigns,  the  manly-minded  virgin  queen,  had  filled  her 
throne — regarded  England  as  a  mere  speck  on  the  bosom 
of  the  sea ;  hard,  it  is  true,  of  access,  and  difficult  to  con 
quer  ;  but  powerless  abroad,  and  exercising  scarce  a  shad 
ow  either  of  influence  or  power  among  the  mightier  roy 
alties  of  Europe.  Was  Cromwell  happy  ? 

In  a  high  chamber  of  his  more  than  royal  residence, 
while  all  without  was  rife  with  demonstrations  of  respect 
for  his  affeered  and  legal  dignity,  Oliver  sat  alone.  Sump 
tuously,  though  still  plainly  clad,  in  an  entire  suit  of  sable 
velvet,  the  jewelled  sword  of  state  which  had  been,  on 
that  same  day  of  the  foregoing  year,  buckled  to  his  side, 
lying  upon  the  board  before  him,  and  bearing  in  his  al 
tered  mien,  altered  most  strangely,  and  adapted  to  his  al 
tered  station,  that  grave,  majestic  dignity  which  had  re 
placed  the  bluntness  of  his  soldier-bearing,  musing  in  soli 
tude  and  silence,  the  greatest  man  in  England  passed  the 
first  anniversary  of  his  assured  and  titled  greatness. 

There  was,  however,  now  no  glow  of  exultation  on  that 
pale  cheek  and  careworn  brow,  no  curl  of  triumph  on  the 
lip,  no  flash  of  gratified  ambition  in  the  downcast  eye. 
Lines  deeper  and  sterner  than  the  wrinkles  of  advancing 
age  were  seared  into  that  massive  forehead ;  a  shadow 
gloomy  and  sad  had  veiled  that  hollow  eye  ;  exhaustion, 
weariness  of  heart,  sickness  of  spirit,  were  written  visibly 
in  the  pale  caverns  of  that  haggard  cheek. 

There  was  a  trifling  sound,  a  casual  rustling  in  the  large 
apartment,  a  thousand  such  as  which  each  hour  brings  to 
unsuspicious  ears ;  he  started  to  his  feet — he  thrust  his 
hand  into  his  bosom.  He  bent  a  searching  and  disquiet 
eye  into  each  corner  of  the  room,  which  was  so  strongly 
lighted  that  not  a  shadow  could  be  seen  in  its  most  dis 
tant  angle.  He  listened  as  the  condemned  prisoner  listens 
for  the  foot  of  the  law's  last  minister.  The  sound  came 
not  again,  and  he  resumed  his  seat ;  but,  as  he  did  so,  a 


THE  PERPETUAL  PROTECTOR.        421 

sharp  and  jingling  clash  told  that  beneath  the  civic  garb 
there  lurked  a  shirt  of  steel ;  and  the  light  glittered  on 
the  butt  of  a  concealed  pistol,  just  rendered  visible  by  the 
derangement  of  his  doublet.  The  soldier  of  a  hundred 
fields,  the  vanquisher  and  scorner  of  a  thousand  perils, 
he  who  had  ridden  to  the  fray  as  to  the  banquet,  he  who 
had  stood  all  dauntless  and  unflinching  among  a  storm  of 
bullets,  that  mowed  down  all  around  him,  Avore  hidden 
armor,  shook  at  an  empty  sound.  A  pile  of  papers  lay 
before  him  on  the  table,  threats  from  anonymous  assassins, 
hints  from  concealed  and  faithful  spies,  dwellers  at  every 
court  in  Europe,  despatches  intercepted,  private  corres 
pondence  opened  and  searched,  and,  on  the  top  of  all,  a 
pamphlet,  fresh  from  the  press,  writh  the  leaves  partly  cut, 
and  a  broad-bladed  dagger,  which  he  had  used  to  open 
them,  lying  upon  it,  as  if  to  mark  the  place.  It  bore  the 
ominous  and  fearful  title,  KILLING  NO  MURDER  ! 

After  a  long  pause,  during  which,  though  seated,  he  still 
watched  with  an  acute  and  anxious  ear  for  a  recurrence 
of  the  sound  that  had  disturbed  him,  he  again  took  up  the 
pamphlet,  and  with  a  painful  and  intense  fixedness  of 
study,  that  marked  the  harrowing  interest  he  took  in  its 
minutest  arguments,  perused  its  closely-printed  pages. 
Midnight  had  long  passed  ere  he  had  finished  it ;  with  a 
deep  sigh  he  closed  and  laid  it  down  again ;  a  sigh  not  of 
regret,  but  of  relieved  suspense,  such  as  men  heave  when 
the  catastrophe  of  some  exciting  tragedy  is  over. 

"  The  villain !  "  he  exclaimed ;  "  the  perilous  and  subtle 
villain  !  Damnable  arguments !  Accursed  perversion  of 
the  talents  and  the  intellect,  which  God  giveth  unto  man 
for  good."  He  rose,  and  paced  the  apartment  to  and  fro, 
with  steps  now  faltering  and  slow,  now  hurried,  short,  and 
rapid !  "  'And  my  own  muster-roll ' — he  says — c  contains 
the  names  of  those  who  burn  to  emulate  the  glory  of  the 
younger  Brutus — who  do  aspire  to  the  honor  of  delivering 
their  country' — and  by  what — what  but  my  secret  mur 
der  ?  » — his  brow  became  more  gloomy  than  before ;  and 
yet  again,  after  a  little  space,  rekindled  with  its  ancient 
animation.  "  A  lie  !  "  he  cried,  aloud,  and  in  a  tone  of 
triumph ;  "  I  do  believe,  a  lie ! — a  wicked  and  malignant 
lie !  framed  but  to  break  my  rest !  It  cannot  be,  it  can- 


422  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

not,  that  my  brave  fellows,  my  own  ironsides,  my  follow 
ers  in  a  hundred  battles,  can  be  but  true  and  loyal !  and 
yet,"  he  went  on,  the  momentary  gleam  of  spirit  fading, 
"  and  yet  it  doth  crave  wary  walking ! — ay  !  and,  as  Mil 
ton  would  say  in  his  classic  tongue,  fas  est  et  al  hoste 
doceri  !  But  I  will  watch — yea !  watch  with  my  sword 
drawn  and  my  light  burning.  Surely  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
will  shield  his  servant  from  the  midnight  dagger  as  from 
the  open-smiting  sword.  I  will  trust  no  man. — No  !  not 
one !  Harrison  hath  looked  cold  on  me  of  late,  and  prated 
much  of  Ehud  and  of  Saul.  And  Fleetwood  thwarts  me. 
Hacker,  who  was  my  friend,  is  now  my  bitter  foe.  And 
they  have  dared  to  liken  me  to  Ahab,  and  to  cry  '  Ha ! 
ha !  Hast  thou  slain,  and  dost  thou  take  possession  ? ' 
And  Ormond  hath  come  over,  as  I  learn  to-day — another 
Syndercombe  and  Sexby  business.  The  snares  are  set — 
are  set,  I  say,  on  every  side! — pitfalls  are  digged  for  my 
feet,  and  arrows  whetted  privily  against  me !  And  where 
fore  ?  They  cannot  say  that  I  have  wronged  one  man  in 
England — that  I  have  wrung  one  penny  from  their  purses, 
or  shed  one  drop  of  blood,  save  in  due  course  of  law. 
They  cannot  charge  me  with  bloodthirstiness,  for  I  have 
been  long-suffering  and  merciful — ay !  even  to  a  fault ! — 
but  I  will  be  so  no  longer — Slingsby  must  come  to  trial, 
ay,  and  Hewit — and,  if  condemned,  as  the  Lord  liveth, 
they  shall  die  !  die  as  murderers  and  common  stabbers  ! 
They  cannot  say  that  England  is  not  free,  and  powerful, 
and  happy  as  never  she  was  heretofore  ;  and  yet  they  hate 
me.  Ay,  and  take  counsel  for  my  death ! — and  poison  all 
hearts,  even  of  my  own  friends,  against  me !  '  and  I  shall 
perish,'  this  base  fellow  prophesieth,  '  like  dung  from  off 
the  earth — and  they  that  look  upon  my  greatness  shall 
ask  of  me,  Where  is  he  ? '  " 

He  paused  in  his  distempered  walk,  and,  falling  on  his 
knees,  burst  into  a  passion  of  loud  sobs  and  tears — "  My 
God,"  he  cried,  '*  my  God,  why  hast  thou  thus  forsaken 
me  ?  Oh  yield  not  up  thy  servant  to  the  power  of  the 
ungodly,  nor  suffer  the  blasphemers  to  prevail  against 
him.  For  surely  it  is  thou,  thou,  Lord,  who  hast  thrust 
oil  me  this  undesired  greatness ;  who  hast  compelled  me, 
though  reluctant  and  rebellious,  to  wear  these  trappings 


THE  PERPETUAL  PROTECTOR.  423 

of  authority,  when,  as  thou  knowest,  even  thou,  who 
knowest  all  things,  far  rather  I  had  dwelt  by  a  woodside 
and  tended  sheep,  than  been  the  ruler  of  this  stiff-necked 
and  ungrateful  generation.  But  thou  hast  done  this  vio 
lence  to  my  affections,  thou  hast  disposed  of  thy  servant 
for  the  best  in  thine  own  sight,  as  from  the  beginning  it 
was  written  down.  Yea !  thou  didst  send  thy  minister 
to  warn  him  of  thy  pleasure  when  but  a  child,  foolish  and 
unregenerate,  and  a  slave  to  sin.  Thou  didst  redeem  him 
from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  sure  he  was  in  grace  ;  and 
he  that  is  in  thy  grace  once  can  never  more  relapse.  Lo ! 
by  my  hand  thou  didst  strike  down  the  man  Charles 
Stuart,  putting  it  nightly  and  by  day  into  my  soul,  4  thou 
shalt  not  suffer  him  to  live' — and  thou  hast  set  me  up,  not 
for  my  own  pleasure  nor  at  my  request,  but  at  thine  own 
singular  especial  choice,  for  the  advancement  of  thy 
cause,  the  welfare  and  the  safety  of  thy  church.  And 
thou  hast  made  me,  as  thou  promisedst  of  yore,  though 
not  a  king,  THE  FIEST  IN  ENGLAND  !  And  yet  thou  dost 
abandon  now  thy  servant ;  thou  dost  yield  up  thy  true 
and  faithful  one,  who,  for  thy  cause,  hath  yielded  up  his 
all,  to  the  delusions  of  the  enemy — the  power  of  the  Evil 
One !  I  ask  not,  is  this  merciful  ? — but  is  this  just,  O 
Lord?  Thou  knowest  well  how  I  have  served  thee, 
neither  grudgingly  nor  with  eye  service,  but  in  all  purity 
and  truth  of  spirit;  and  now,  even  now,  Lord,  when  thou 
hast,  as  it  seems,  forgotten  me,  I  turn  to  thee  alone  for 
aid,  to  thee  for  succor  and  for  justice !  Let  me  not  perish 
utterly ;  let  not  my  blood,  which  has  flowed  ever  at  thy 
bidding  freely,  be  spilled  by  a  base  stabber.  Let  me  not 
be  cast  forth  from  the  high  place  whereon  thou  hast  seated 
me,  as  a  thing  worthless  and  despised ;  but  let  me  die, 
when  thou  hast  done  with  me,  in  fullness  of  my  feme, 
either  upon  my  deathbed,  thence  passing  peaceably  into 
thy  presence,  or  gallantly  upon  my  charger's  back  amid 
the  blast  of  trumpets — " 

A  step  was  heard  without,  a  low  tap  at  the  door;  in 
stantly  he  rose  from  his  knee,  holding  the  bible,  which  he 
had  opened  as  he  commenced  his  wild  and  almost  impi 
ous  prayer,  in  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  grasped 
the  hilt  of  the  short  massy  sword  beside  him — "  Enter  1 " 


OLIVER  CROMWELL 

he  said,  in  a  stern,  calm  voice ;  and,  at  the  word,  one  of 
his  body-guards  stepped  in,  announcing  that  a  stranger 
was  below,  craving  to  speak  privately  on  matters  of  great 
import  with  his  highness. 

"  What  like  is  he  ?  "  Oliver  asked,  sharply — "  a  stran 
ger,  ha !  Is  he  a  tall,  pale  man,  with  a  deep  scar  on  his 
right  cheek ;  a  mantle  of  blue  broadcloth  with  a  red  cape, 
a  slouched  hat  and  red  feather  ?  " 

"Even  so,  please  your  highness,"  replied  the  soldier. 

"And  doth  he  wear  his  right  hand  gloved,  resting  upon 
the  hilt  of  a  long  tuck,  and  three  rings  on  the  fingers  of 
his  left  ? '» 

"  Of  a  truth  I  observed  not,"  the  messenger  began. 

"  Begone,  then,  instantly ;  demand  his  name — not  that 
it  matters — but  mark  his  hands,  I  tell  thee — they  should 
be  as  I  tell  thee.  On  the  forefinger  of  the  left  a  plain  gold 
hoop,  and  a  large  seal  ring  of  cornelian,  with  a  small  guard 
of  jet  upon  the  second.  If  it  be  so,  say  to  him  I  will  go 
now  no  farther  in  that  matter,  but  will  send  one  to  con 
fer  with  him  at  three  hours  past  noon  to-morrow,  at  the 
place  which  he  wots  of. 

"  If  it  be  not  as  I  say  to  you,  secure  him  on  the  peril  of 
your  life,  and  have  him  away  forthwith  to  the  Gatehouse. 
But  in  neither  case  trouble  me  any  more  this  night.  Be 
gone  ! "  and,  as  the  soldier  left  the  room,  he  muttered 
something  to  himself  inaudibly,  drew  out  no  fewer  than 
three  pistols  from  different  parts  of  his  attire,  looked  close 
ly  to  the  flints  and  priming,  extinguished  all  the  lights 
save  one,  locked,  double  locked,  and  barred  the  outer 
door;  then  raised  the  tapestry  in  a  corner  of  the  room, 
opened  a  panel  in  the  wainscoting,  and,  gliding  through 
it  into  a  devious  passage  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  stole 
like  a  guilty  thing  to  a  remote  bedchamber,  different  from 
that  in  which  he  had  slept  the  preceding  night,  known 
only  to  one  old  and  trusted  servitor. 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  MAN.  425 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    DAUGHTER    OF    THE    MAN. 

Perchance  she  died  in  youth :  it  maybe  bowed 
With  woes  far  heavier  than  the  ponderous  tomb 
That  weighed  upon  her  gentle  dust,  a  cloud 
Might  gather  o'er  her  beauty,  and  a  gloom 
In  her  dark  eye,  prophetic  of  the  doom 
Heaven  gives  its  favoril.es — early  death. 

CHILI>E  HAROLD. 

THE  power,  the  wealth,  and  the  prosperity  of  England 
daily  and  almost  hourly  increased.  The  ravages  of  war 
had  long  since  disappeared  from  her  deep  velvet  pastures 
and  her  happy  homes.  Every  religion  was  endured  ex 
cept  when  its  professors  intermeddled  in  state  matters ; 
all  parties,  whether  cavalier,  or  Presbyterian,  or  fifth- 
monarchist,  shared  equally  the  law's  protection,  alike  re 
lied  on  the  protector's  evenhanded  justice.  The  arts  and 
sciences  were  more  encouraged ;  learned  and  polished 
scholars  were  esteemed  at  the  court  of  Oliver  in  higher 
and  more  just  repute ;  morality  was  more  rewarded, 
licentiousness  and  vice  more  frowned  down,  than  ever 
they  had  been  before. 

Nor,  though  the  court  was  rigid  almost  to  excess  in 
morals,  was  its  decorum  chilled  by  any  touch  of  jealous, 
puritanical  moroseness.  All  innocent  amusements  were 
admitted  and  enjoyed  freely,  Cromwell  himself  keeping  a 
stud  of  race-horses,  and  laboring  to  promote  in  all  things 
lawful,  not  the  mere  welfare,  but  the  happiness  and  com 
fort  of  his  meanest  subject.  No  Christian  sect  was  hin 
dered  in  its  worship  or  observances ;  even  the  trampled 
and  scorned  Israelite  finding  an  advocate  and  friend  in 
that  great  man,  who  went  so  infinitely  far  in  toleration, 
beyond,  not  his  own  age  alone,  but  the  most  liberal  usa 
ges  of  the  most  tolerant  of  modern  nations. 

Still  did  his  cares,  his  griefs,  and  his  perplexities  but 
multiply.  No  success  was  enough  to  please,  no  general 
prosperity  enough  to  satiate,  the  people ;  craving  eternally 
the  something  new  ;  losing  the  tangible  realities  of  pres 
ent  in  the  dim  longings  after  future  happiness  ;  forgetting 


426  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

benefits  conferred ;  ungrateful  for  past  merits ;  light 
headed,  fickle,  and  false-hearted.  Day  after  day  new 
plots  broke  out ;  and  though  they  burst  all  harmlessly — 
the  veteran  bearing  still,  as  it  would  seem,  a  charmed  life 
— every  detected  scheme,  punished  or  pardoned,  left  its 
deep  sting  behind. 

Cromwell's  existence  was  no  longer  healthful ;  his  spirit 
was  no  longer,  as  of  yore,  elastic  and  storm-riding  as  the 
eagle's  pinion.  His  days  were  spent  in  bitter,  because 
thankless,  labors ;  his  nights  in  agonizing  apprehensions. 
It  was  not  that  he  trembled  ;  it  was  not  that  a  vile  and 
dastard  fear  of  death  shook  his  soul  from  its  eminence ;  it 
was  not  that  he  would  have  doubted  any  more  to  hurl 
himself  in  open  strife  upon  the  deadliest  hazard  now,  when 
the  monarch  of  the  land,  than  when  he  fought,  a  simple 
colonel  of  the  ironsides,  a  cause  of  dread  to  others,  him 
self  dreading  nothing.  But  it  was  the  suspense,  the 
doubt,  the  inability  to  harbor  trust  or  confidence  hi  any 
of  those  nearest  to  his  person.  The  gnawing  heart-con 
suming  sense  of  being  undervalued,  dealt  with  ungrate 
fully,  wronged,  hated,  and  betrayed. 

Still  in  the  prime  of  intellectual  manhood,  his  strong 
form  was  bowed  and  feeble ;  his  hair,  once  dark  as  the 
raven's  wing,  thin,  weak,  .and  gray;  his  piercing  eye 
downcast  and  veiled,  and  his  whole  aspect  that  of  a  man 
worn  out,  even  by  his  own  success,  spiritless  and  heart 
broken. 

Parliament  after  parliament,  convoked  to  settle  the 
provisions  of  the  nation,  rebelled  against  his  power,  run 
ning,  as  had  their  predecessors,  wild  on  abtruse  religious 
doctrines,  and  anxious  to  plunge  all  things  once  more  into 
anarchy,  by  striving  to  work  out  their  frantic  phantasies 
of  perfect  and  unchangeable  republics. 

Each  after  each  he  was  compelled,  not  for  his  own  sake 
merely,  but  for  England's,  which  else  they  would  assur 
edly  have  hurled  again  into  the  abyss  of  civil  discord,  to 
break  up  and  dissolve  them.  Nothing  could  crush  the 
tameless  hardihood  with  which  he  bore  up,  nerved  by 
their  very  pressure,  against  burdens  to  a  slighter  intellect 
wholly  unbearable ;  conspiracies  of  enemies,  false-hearted- 
ness  of  friends ;  treasons  and  anarchy  at  home,  insults  and 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  MAN.  427 

wars  abroad.  All  yielded  to  the  active  vigor  with  which 
he  sprang  to  grapple  them,  but  by  that  very  vigor  was 
his  own  mighty  spirit,  like  a  bow  overstrained  by  too 
long  tension,  despoiled  of  its  own  strength,  its  pliability, 
its  power  of  renewed  exertion. 

The  capture  of  the  rich  West  Indian  isles,  the  persecu 
tions  of  the  Yaudois,  remitted  at  the  first  hint  of  his  po 
tential  voice,  the  all-important  port  of  Dunkirk,  so  long 
the  secret  aim  of  England's  politic  ambition,  ceded  to  his 
victorious  arms,  cast  a  bright  gleam,  indeed,  on  his  de 
clining  years ;  but  it  was  like  the  last  gleam  of  the  wintry 
sunshine,  that  gilds,  but  leaves  no  impress  of  its  glory  on 
the  snow-mantled  earth. 

A  nearer  sorrow,  a  more  domestic  grief,  was  destined 
to  wear  through  the  last  link  of  the  corroding  chain,  a 
mere  affliction,  such  as  befalls  each  father  of  a  family  many 
times  in  a  life,  and,  for  the  most,  leaves  but  slight  traces 
even  on  minds  less  firmly  moulded,  annihilated  the  gigan 
tic  energies  of  that  great  master  spirit  which  had,  through 
out  its  mortal  course,  met  nothing  that  could  cope  with  it, 
nothing  that  had  not  been  subdued,  enslaved,  and  over 
whelmed  by  its  indomitable  will.  Elizabeth,  his  best  beloved 
daughter,  a  woman  of  invaluable  worth,  modest,  and  deli 
cate,  and  feminine,  and  gentle ;  yet  of  a  character  the  most 
decisive,  a  principle  the  most  undeviating,  a  permanence 
and  rectitude  of  purpose  the  most  immovable,  and,  above 
all,  an  influence  on  her  father  the  most  peculiar  and  im 
pressive,  lay  wasting  on  a  bed  of  mortal  sickness. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  his  broad  realms,  those  realms 
wherein  the  sweet,  calm  home  affections  have  ever  flour 
ished  the  most  greenly,  there  lived  not  any  father  more 
kind,  solicitous,  forbearing,  and  devoted  in  his  paternal 
love,  than  the  unconquered  victor,  the  merciless  avenger, 
the  stern  judge,  the  regicide,  the  ruler.  Hard  as  he  was 
abroad,  cold  and  unbending  in  all  outward  show,  in  his 
domestic  hours  none  were  more  warm  than  he,  more  play 
ful,  or  affectionate. 

Thus  constituted  toward  all  his  children,  the  dearest  to 
his  feelings,  as  the  most  prized  and  valued  in  his  judg 
ment,  was  Elizabeth,  who  now  consumed  by  an  unnatural 
and  mortal  malady,  was  waning  hourly  before  his  eyes. 


428  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

She  was  the  only  one  of  all  his  family,  the  only  one  of  all 
his  friends,  save  only  Edgar  Arden,  who  had  dared  ever 
to  remonstrate  with  him  during  the  upward  course  of  his 
ambition.  She  had  confronted  many  a  time  his  sophistry 
with  that  most  sound  of  all  philosophies,  the  pure  creed 
of  the  Christian ;  she  had  rebuked  his  zealous  and  fanatic 
superstitions  with  regulated  and  sincere  religion ;  she  had 
accused  him  of  that  restless  and  insatiate  ambition,  which 
she  perceived,  or  fancied  she  perceived,  to  be  the  instiga 
tor  and  the  planner,  it  might  be  unsuspected  even  by  him 
self,  of  all  his  darker  actions. 

She  had  rebuked  him  during  the  trial ;  she  had  besought 
him,  on  her  bended  knees,  before  the  execution  of  the 
king,  to  spare,  not  his  crowned  victim  only,  but  his  own 
deathless  fame  ;  his  own  immortal  soul.  Her  wishes  set 
at  naught,  her  prayers  unheeded,  she  had  not  once,  no, 
not  for  one  brief  moment,  complained,  or  murmured,  or 
revolted. 

She  had  not  once  reproached  him  with  that  which  it 
was  now  too  late  to  remedy,  but  she  had  ever  been  the 
soother  of  his  disquiet  mind,  when  fits  of  his  accustomed 
hypochondriasm  had  overcome  him  writh  remorse,  and 
terror,  and  visions  ominous  of  woe ;  she  had  ever  been  his 
calm  monitress,  inculcating  a  milder  and  a  holier  creed ; 
exhorting  him  to  penitence,  as  the  sole  path  to  pardon  and 
to  peace.  And  it  was  strange  that  now,  in  his  most  lordly 
plenitude  of  power,  the  two  sympathies  which  he  most 
keenly  felt  were  toward  the  only  two  of  human  beings  who 
had  seen  through  the  first,  perceived  the  earliest,  and 
opposed  the  latest,  the  most  darling  objects  of  his  soul. 

Abandoned  now  by  all,  the  leader,  revered,  but  not 
loved  by  his  followers,  the  monarch,  self-upheld  above  re 
bellious  subjects,  the  master,  flattered,  and  courted,  and, 
perhaps,  betrayed — he  clung  with  a  sharp,  painful  yearn 
ing,  as  to  the  only  feelings  of  his  heart  entirely  pure  and 
unmixed  with  aught  worldly,  to  his  affection  for  Elizabeth 
and  his  regret  for  Arden. 

Never,  since  he  had  fixed  his  firm  seat  on  the  bloody 
throne  of  Charles,  had  his  most  cherished  daughter  been 
what  she  was  in  his  more  innocent  and  humbler  days.  Her 
smile  was  as  sweet,  yet  it  was  now  no  longer  joyous ;  and 


THfi  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  MAN.  429 

her  cheek  lost  its  roses,  and  her  form  its  roundness ;  a 
glassy  film  veiled  her  soft  eye  ;  and  he,  the  father,  saw  it, 
and  knew,  yet  could  not  reconcile  himself  to  the  approach 
ing  woe  ;  and  felt  himself  to  be,  unutterable  anguish,  the 
slayer  of  his  chosen  child.  And  seeing,  knowing,  feeling 
all  this,  it  was  his  lot  to  deal  the  last  blow  to  her  gentle 
being,  to  launch  the  last  shaft  that  should  ever  rankle  in 
her  bosom  with  the  envenomed  barbs  of  mortal  sorrow. 

Hewit,  who,  with  Sir  Henry  Slingsby,  had,  on  most 
positive,  unquestionable  proof,  been  condemned  for  con 
spiracy  against  the  power  and  life  of  Oliver ;  whom  party 
prejudice  cannot  deny  to  have  been  guilty  of  the  intent 
to  kill ;  an  intent  hindered  only  by  premature  discovery 
of  their  plot ;  nor  the  most  jealous  scrutiny  discover  to  have 
been  otherwise  than  justly  executed  ;  Hewit  had  been  the 
preacher  on  whose  ministry  she  had  for  many  years  at 
tended  ;  had  united  her  to  Claypole  by  the  service  of  the 
church ;  had  been  her  friend,  her  comforter,  her  teacher ; 
and,  looking  on  him  only  in  these  amiable  and  endearing 
lights,  Elizabeth  forgot  to  view  him  as  the  intended  mur 
derer  of  her  father.  She  had  argued  in  his  behalf,  half  jus 
tified  his  crime  under  the  plea  of  loyalty  to  his  true  king, 
prayed  zealously  and  piteously  for  the  remission  of  his 
punishment,  and,  finding  all  her  supplications  vain,  mourned 
over  him  with  so  intense  and  terrible  a  storm  of  grief, 
that  it  half  overcame  her  intellect,  and  quite  wore  out 
her  frail  and  fading  body. 

With  a  dull  apathy  Oliver  heard  at  first  that  her  life 
was  despaired  of;  no  sign  of  sorrow  was  displayed,  scarce 
ly  of  sense  or  feeling ;  but  after  a  short  space  came  the 
revulsion,  the  breaking  up  of  all  the  vain  restraints  of 
pride,  and  stoicism,  and  man's  aifected  hardihood,  the 
loosing  of  the  floodgates  of  the  soul,  the  awful,  vehement 
outpourings  of  a  strong  man's  despair.  From  that  day 
forth  he  left  not  her  bedside,  neither  by  day  nor  yet  by 
night,  tending  her  with  all  a  woman's  care,  and,  more  than 
all,  a  woman's  love.  Soothing  her  every  phantasy,  feign 
ing  to  be,  or,  it  may  be,  persuading  himself  also  that  he 
would  be,  all  she  could  wish  him,  praying  and  weeping 
with  her.  Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful,  more  pious, 
or  more  touching  than  the  conduct  of  that  gray-haired 


430  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

usurper,  mourning  as  one  that  had  no  hope  beyond  her 
grave,  beside  his  daughter's  deathbed. 

But  wretched  as  the  consolation  would  have  been,  to 
have  caught  on  his  lips  her  last  expiring  sigh,  to  have  felt 
reflected  on  his  own  the  last  glance  of  her  glazing  eyes — 
that  wretched  consolation  was  denied  to  him ;  for,  as  the 
body  of  his  sweet  child  wasted,  so  did  her  mind  wane 
likewise ;  and  for  many  days  before  the  termination  of 
her  sufferings,  she  would  at  times  burst  into  fits  of  the 
most  frantic  and  insane  delirium. 

These,  as  the  time  of  her  decease  drew  nearer,  became 
more  and  more  vehement  and  frightful ;  and  it  was  strange 
that  she,  whose  pains  had  ever  seemed  less  bitter,  or,  at  the 
least,  more  easily  endured  when  her  hand  rested  in  her 
father's ;  now,  at  the  sight  of  him  she  loved  so  dearly,  nay, 
at  the  mere  tones  of  his  voice,  or  his  suppressed  and  cau 
tious  footstep,  started  at  once  into  the  most  furious 
paroxysms. 

"  Blood  !  blood !  "  she  would  shriek,  till  the  whole  pile 
of  Hampton  court  rang  with  her  awful  ravings — "  I  float, 
I  smother  in  a  sea ;  a  sea  of  human  blood  !  Who  comes  ? 
who  comes  ?  red  with  the  gore  of  monarchs ;  red  with 
the  slaughter  of  the  saints  ?  Father  ? — not  father — no — 
no — oh,  not  my  father !  "  and  then  again  she  would  take 
up  the  cry,  "  Blood !  blood ! "  struggling  and  wrestling  on 
her  couch  as  if  amid  the  weltering  waves,  till  those  who 
watched  about  her  were  well-nigh  distraught  with  terror, 
and  till  the  boldest  of  her  medical  attendants,  in  the  most 
positive  terms,  insisted  on  the  absence  of  the  despairing 
father  from  the  sick  chamber  of  his  child. 

He  withdrew  silently,  and  with  a  quiet  patience,  that 
perfectly  astonished  those  acquainted  with  the  imperious- 
ness  of  Cromwell's  will ;  but  he  withdrew  only  from  her 
deathbed  to  lie  down  upon  his  own. 

Shattered  before  by  the  incessant  cares  which  he  for 
many  months  had  undergone,  the  whole  weight  of  the 
government  resting  upon  his  single  shoulders ;  "relaxed  by 
nervousness,  suspicion,  superstition,  and  remorse ;  this 
last  blow  broke  him  down.  His  old  complaint,  the  ague, 
which  had  attacked  him  first  in  Scotland,  and  shaken,  if 
it  had  not  actually  undermined,  his  constitution,  returned 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.  431 

upon  him  with  redoubled  violence,  and,  in  a  few  days, 
brought  him  down  to  the  very  threshold  of  that  dark 
house — the  grave. 

But  it  was  not,  in  truth,  the  ailment  only  of  the  corpo 
real  shell ;  it  was  the  intolerable  burden  "  of  that  perilous- 
stuff  that  weighs  upon  the  heart !  "  Had  the  mind  been 
at  ease,  the  sickness  of  the  body  had  been  of  small  account. 
"  The  sorrows  written  on  the  brain  were  not  to  be  razed 
out,  nor  the  stuffed  bosom  cleansed."  The  scabbard, 
fretted  long  ago,  was  now,  at  length,  worn  out  by  the 
keen  weapon  that  lay  hid  within  it ;  the  earthen  jar  was 
burst  by  the  inscrutable  workings  of  the  liquor  it  contained ; 
the  pharos  was  consumed  by  the  same  fire  which  had  for 
many  a  year  been  the  sole  agent  of  its  glory. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE     BEGINNING     OF     THE     END. 

"The  third  of  the  same  moon,  whose  former  course 
Had  all  but  crowned  him,  on  the  self-same  day 
Deposed  him  gently  from  his  throne  of  force, 
And  laid  him  with  the  earth's  preceding  clay. 
And  showed  not  fortune  thus  how  fame  and  sway 
And  all  we  deem  delightful,  and  consume 
Our  souls  to  compass  through  each  arduous  way 
Are  in  her  eyes  less  happy  than  the  tomb? 
"Were  they  but  so  in  man's,  how  different  were  his  doom," 

IT  was  already  twilight  on  a  sweet  August  evening, 
and  the  streets  were  fast  growing  thin,  as  the  many* 
tongued  and  busy  crowd,  that  had  chafed  and  fretted 
throughout  the  day,  like  waves,  in  every  channel  of  the 
great  metropolis,  gradually  passed  away,  to  seek  for  re 
laxation  in  their  peaceful  homes  from  all  the  cares,  anxie 
ties,  and  sorrows  which  had  increased  to  them  the  heat 
and  burden  of  their  daily  labors. 

A  few,  however,  might  be  still  seen  studding  in  scat 
tered  groups  the  shadowy  thoroughfares,  some  hurrying, 
as  belated  men,  with  hasty  footsteps  homeward,  some  loi 
tering  aimlessly  along,  as  if  to  catch  the  pleasant  coolness 


432       ,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

of  the  evening  breeze.  Among  these  groups  was  one,  if 
it  could  properly  be  termed  so,  consisting  of  two  persons ; 
the  one  a  man  perhaps  a  little  past  the  middle  age,  with 
soft  and  pensive  features,  and  long  light  brown  hair,  wav 
ing  in  loose  and  scattered  curls  over  the  collar  of  his  plain 
gray  doublet — the  other  a  boy,  richly  attired,  as  might 
beseem  the  page  of  a  high  family,  upon  whose  shoulder 
the  elder  person  leaned  somewhat  heavily  with  his  left 
hand,  while  with  the  right  he  moved  a  staff  of  ebony  be 
fore  him,  as  if  to  feel  his  way,  for  he  was  blind,  although 
no  scrutiny  could  have  discovered  any  speck  or  blemish 
in  the  clear  but  cold  gray  eyes  which,  seeming  to  see  all 
things,  were,  in  truth,  sealed  up  in  rayless  night. 

No  words  were  interchanged  between  the  pair  as  they 
passed  onward  to  Whitehall  at  a  pace  suitable  to  the  in 
firmity  of  the  chief  personage  ;  but,  when  they  reached 
the  palace  gate,  the  page  spoke  shortly  in  a  low  voice  to 
the  sentinel  on  duty,  who  was  engaged  in  parleying  with 
a  gentleman  on  horseback,  of  military  air  and  noble  bear 
ing,  and  was  already  passing  in,  when  suddenly  the  stran 
ger,  who,  it  seemed,  had  been  refused  admittance,  cast  his 
eye  on  the  boy's  companion,  and  instantly  addressed  him. 

"Well  met,  and  in  good  season,"  he  exclaimed;  "if 
my  eyes  play  me  not  a  trick,  my  excellent  friend  Milton ! " 
The  blind  man's  countenance  flashed  with  a  joyous  light 
as  he  replied — "Well  met,  indeed!  well  met,  and  wel 
come,  after  long  years  of  absence ;  for  sure  I  am  mine 
ears  deceive  me  not,  though  it  be  one  whose  accents  I  but 
little  counted  should  ever  greet  them  more — Sir  Edgar 
Arden ! " 

"It  is  indeed  !  "  answered  the  horseman.  "After  long 
years  of  wandering  in  the  transatlantic  wilds,  I  have  at 
length  turned  my  feet  homeward ;  I  landed  only  three 
days  since  at  Portsmouth,  and,  riding  with  all  diligence, 
have  but  this  hour  arrived  in  London.  Right  glad  am  I 
to  see  one  of  the  only  two  persons  with  whom  I  have  now 
any  ties  on  earth,  so  early,  and,  if  I  may  judge  from  ap 
pearances,  so  well  in  health." 

"  I  thank  you !  "  answered  the  poet,  grasping  affection 
ately  his  friend's  hand ;  "  I  thank  you  heartily ;  by  His 
great  mercy,  and  beside  my  one  infirmity,  I  am  sound,  as 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.  433 

I  trust,  both  mind  and  body.  But,  tell  me — for,  in  that 
I  see  you  here,  I  judge  who  is  the  other  person  with  whom 
you  still  esteem  yourself  united — can  I  do  aught  for  you  ? 
I  am,  you  know,  his  secretary  ?  " 

"I  would,  if  it  were  possible,"  Sir  Edgar  answered, 
"  see  the  protector.  I  owe  him  some  amends,  and  would 
fain  tell  him  how  highly  I  esteem  the  fruits  of  his  good 
government  at  home  and  his  wise  policy  abroad.  The 
soldier  here  on  duty  tells  me  that  he  is  ill  at  ease,  and  has 
denied  me  entrance.  I  trust  he  is  not  seriously  diseased." 

The  Latin  secretary  shook  his  head,  and  the  expression 
of  his  countenance,  so  joyful  at  the  recognition  of  his 
friend,  altered  perceptibly.  "  He  is,  indeed,  much  ailing, 
we  trust  not  mortally ;  but  his  old  ague  hath  returned  on 
him,  and  what  with  that,  and  deep  anxiety  for  Lady  Clay- 
pole's  health,  and  over-laboring  in  the  service  of  the  state, 
he  is  reduced  so  greatly  that  his  physicians  fear.  Yet  is 
he  marvellously  held  up  by  faith  in  the  Lord ;  and  all  his 
chaplains  have  assurance  strongly  impressed  upon  their 
hearts  that  he  shall  live,  not  die.  I  doubt  not  he  wrill  see 
you,  and  forthwith ;  for  often  hath  he  spoken  of  you  re 
cently,  and  as  of  one  whom  he  once  cherished  greatly,  and 
greatly  regrets  alway." 

And,  without  farther  words,  he  bade  the  page  send 
some  one  straightway  to  lead  hence  Sir  Edgar's  horse, 
and  to  desire  the  chamberlain  acquaint  his  highness  that 
John  Milton  was  below,  with  an  old  Mend  and  comrade, 
even  Sir  Edgar  Arden.  After  a  few  minutes,  which  the 
friends  consumed  pleasantly  in  slight  though  interesting 
conversation,  a  private  of  the  guard  relieved  Sir  Edgar 
of  his  horse,  and  shortly  afterward  an  officer  of  the  pro 
tector's  household  made  his  appearance,  and,  informing 
them  that  his  highness  was  engaged  at  present  in  his 
meditations  with  worthy  Master  Peters  and  others  of  his 
chaplains,  but  that  he  shortly  would  find  leisure  to  re 
ceive  them,  ushered  them  with  no  little  courtesy  into  an 
antechamber,  as  Milton  whispered  to  his  friend,  of  the 
same  suite  which  Oliver  at  present  occupied.  Nearly  an 
hour  passed  away  before  they  received  any  farther  word  ; 
but  each  of  those  congenial  spirits  had  so  much  to  hear 
and  narrate  to  the  other,  that  the  moments  did  not  lag, 
S  28 


434  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

and  it  was  with  a  feeling  nearly  akin  to  wonder  that  they 
heard  the  clocks  striking  ten  just  as  the  chamberlain  an 
nounced  to  them  the  wish  of  the  protector  to  see  them  in 
his  chamber. 

They  entered  ;  and,  propped  up  by  cushions  on  his  fe 
verish  bed,  care-worn,  hollow-cheeked,  and  heavy-eyed, 
with  a  wild  expression  of  anxiety  and  pain  on  his  thin 
features,  there  lay  the  mighty  being  from  whom  Sir  Ed 
gar  had  last  parted  in  the  pride  of  manhood,  in  the  pleni 
tude  of  power,  in  the  indomitable  confidence  of  his  own 
unresisted  faculties.  On  one  side  of  his  pillow  sat  Hugh 
Peters,  his  familiar  chaplain,  a  stern  and  gloomy-looking 
fanatic,  intently  occupied,  as  it  would  seem,  in  studying 
his  pocket  bible  ;  and  on  the  other  his  wife,  a  lady  of 
majestic  bearing,  although  wanting  somewhat  in  the  easy 
dignity  which  is  acquired  only  by  acquaintance  from 
childhood  upward  with  courtly  circles,  and  two  of  her 
daughters,  the  ladies  Falconbridge  and  Rich,  who  had 
been  summoned  from  their  sister's  deathbed  by  an  ex 
press,  bearing  tidings  of  their  father's  dangerous  seizure. 

An  air  of  deep  gloom  pervaded  the  apartment,  and  mel 
ancholy  sat  like  a  cloud  upon  the  comely  faces  of  the 
younger  ladies,  his  wife  repressing  all  outward  demonstra 
tions  of  disquiet  in  obedience  to  the  wish  of  Oliver,  who 
pertinaciously  maintained  that  full  assurance  had  been 
vouchsafed  him  from  on  high  that  he  should  yet  be  spared, 
until  his  usefulness  should  be  completed  to  the  Lord  and 
to  the  people  whom  he  had  been  placed  in  trust  to  govern 
for  their  good. 

Calm  as  he  was,  and  self-restrained  at  all  times-,  Arden 
could  not  so  far  command  his  voice  as  to  prevent  it  from 
trembling  as  he  addressed  his  old  commander,  and  a  large 
tear  rolled  slowly  down  his  cheek  as  he  beheld  the  rava 
ges  which  grief,  and  time,  and  terror  had  wrought  on  his 
expressive  features  and  Herculean  form.  But  Cromwell 
saw  not  the  tear  nor  noticed  the  unusual  tone  of  Edgar's 
salutation.  As  he  perceived  his  chosen  officer,  a  mighty 
gleam  of  exultation  flashed  over  his  worn  lineaments,  and 
his  pale  lip  was  curled  with  honest  triumph.  He  well 
remembered,  and  had  often  pondered  on  the  last  words 
he  had  heard  from  the  sincere  and  conscientious  man, 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.  435 

who  stood  beside  him ;  he  knew  his  former  doubts ;  he 
had  interpreted  aright  his  silence,  his  protracted  absence  ; 
and  now,  that  he  had  sought  him  out  unsummoned,  he 
felt  the  proud  conviction  that  this  man's  mind  was  altered ; 
that  this  late  visit  was  a  confession  of  his  error ;  a  token 
of  his  approbation  and  good-will.  All  this  rushed  on  the 
dying  sovereign's  soul  at  once  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  pain, 
and  doubt,  and  peril,  he  exulted.  Exulted,  that  the  only 
man  in  his  whole  realm  whose  disapproval  he  had  dreaded, 
and  whose  applause  he  valued,  had,  by  this  long-delayed 
approach  to  reconciliation,  sealed  his  avowal,  that,  in  ru 
ling  England,  he  had  ruled,  not  for  his  own  aggrandize 
ment,  but  for  the  people's  welfare. 

"  Ha !  Edgar  Arden  !  "  he  cried,  in  tones  resembling 
more  his  ancient  voice  of  power  than  any  which,  for  many 
a  mournful  day,  he  had  sent  forth.  "  Though  late,  I  greet 
thee,  I  rejoice  to  see  thee,  yea,  as  a  trusty  friend,  a  valued 
and  long-lost  companion.  Verily  hath  it  relieved  me  of 
well-nigh  half  my  ailment  to  grasp  this  honest  hand  of 
thine,  to  hear  once  more  the  accents  of  a  voice  which  no 
man  ever  heard  to  utter  aught  save  words  of  truth  and 
honor.  I  thank  thee,  good  John  Milton,  that  thou  hast 
brought  to  me  this — I  had  well-nigh  said — this  son. 
Surely,  though  not  a  prodigal,  for  him  shall  there  be  slain 
a  fatted  calf,  and  that  right  early." 

Again  Arden  was  much  aifected,  so  much  that  Oliver 
perceived  it ;  and  pressing  Edgar's  hand,  which  he  had 
still  retained  in  his  own  burning  grasp,  "  Think  not,"  he 
said,  "  so  gravely  of  this  matter.  'T  is  but  a  little  sick 
ness,  a  paltry  fever.  Surely  we  two  have  ridden  on  such 
real  perils,  and  ridden,  though  I  say  it,  with  an  unblench- 
ing  heart  and  a  calm  brow,  that  it  is  not  for  us  to  quake 
and  tremble  in  the  soul  if  that  a  petty  ague  shake  these 
our  mortal  sinews.  I  tell  thee,  man,  the  Lord  hath  heard 
our  prayer — mine,  and  these  holy  men's — HE  hath  yet 
need  of  me  in  mine  appointed  place  on  earth ;  nor  will  he 
yet  yield  up  his  servant  into  the  jaws  of  death.  I  tell 
thee,  years  are  yet  before  us,  years  full  of  usefulness,  and 
happiness,  and  glory,  and  we  will  part  no  more.  Thou 
wilt  not  leave  me  any  more,  Sir  Edgar  ?  " 

"  Not  on  this  side  the  grave,"  Arden  replied.     "  When 


436  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

last  we  parted,  I  was,  I  own  it,  blinded.  Blinded  by 
wrongful  and  unmerited  suspicion.  I  thought  you  selfish 
and  ambitious  ;  I  foresaw  that  you  must  be  the  ruler  of 
this  land,  and  I  fancied  that  to  be  so  had  been  the  aim  and 
object  of  your  life  ;  that  you  had  wrested  circumstance  to 
your  advantage,  made  time  and  tide  your  slaves.  I  own 
I  was  in  error — and,  with  me,  to  own  is  to  repair.  The 
elder  Charles  was,  I  confess,  unfit  to  reign,  unfit  to  live  ! 
for,  had  he  lived,  we  must  have  warred  with  him  forever. 
He  dead,  there  was  no  choice  save  between  you  and  a  re 
public.  And  pardon  me  that  I  believed  it  your  intent  to 
seize  the  reins  of  government  at  once  on  the  king's  death ; 
and  that,  believing  so,  I  deemed  your  agency  in  that  great 
trial  as  mere  deceit  and  fraud.  Justly,  however,  honestly, 
you  suifered  the  experiment  to  work ;  and  had  the  people 
been — as  in  my  poor  opinion  never  people  were  nor  will 
be  while  this  universe  exists — capable  of  self-government, 
fit  to  elect  their  rulers,  or  willing  to  submit  to  laws  of 
their  own  making,  they  had  been  still  self-governed,  and, 
as  they  term  it,  free.  I  thank  God  that  they  are  so  no 
longer.  Better,  far  better,  if  it  must  be  so,  one  tyrant 
than  ten  thousand.  But  you,  sir,  are  no  tyrant ;  but  the 
sagest,  boldest,  and  most  prosperous  monarch  that  ever 
yet  has  governed  Britons.  Dreaded  abroad,  honored  at 
home,  you  have  indeed,  as  you  did  prophesy  to  me  long 
years  ago,  you  have  indeed  caused  the  mere  name  of 
Englishman  to  be  as  greatly  and  as  widely  honored  as  ever 
was  the  style  of  antique  Roman.  You  know  that  I  nor 
natter  nor  deceive,  but  always  speak  right  onward.  I 
owed  you  reparation  for  unjust  suspicion,  and  I  have  made 
it.  So  far,  then,  we  are  quits !  Now,  then,  as  to  the 
man  who  has  made  England  mightier,  freer,  happier  than 
ever  she  has  been  before,  as  to  the  undisputed  and  only 
fitting  ruler  of  the  soil,  I  tender  you  my  service  and 
allegiance ! " 

"  True  friend !  true  friend  !  "  cried  Cromwell.  "  You, 
and  you  only,  have  judged  of  me,  and  have  judged  aright. 
The  boldness  of  your  former  censure  confirms  the  frank 
ness  of  your  present  praise.  You,  only,  dared  upbraid 
me  with  ambition ;  you,  only,  envy  not  the  greatness 
which  has  been  thrust  upen  me.  Surely,  could  England 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.  437 

have  been  free,  and  tranquil,  and  at  peace,  never  had  I 
sat  on  this  thorny  eminence  ;  but  the  Lord  willed  it  so ; 
and,  as  he  wills,  it  must  be.  I  thank  you,  and  most  cor 
dially  do  I  accept  your  service,  and  frankly  do  I  tell  you 
it  will  avail  me  much ;  for  you  I  may  trust,  and,  save  only 
you  and  excellent  John  Milton,  I  know  not  any  other. 
The  heathen  have  come  round  about  me,  and  digged  pits, 
and  wove  snares  on  every  side ;  traitors  are  in  my  guard ; 
false  prophets  in  my  chamber ;  spies  and  assassins  every 
where  ;  daggers  around  my  pillow ;  and  ratsbane  in  my 
cup.  Yet,  by  the  Lord's  help,  have  I  set  them  all  at 
naught ;  and  confident  am  I  that  he  will  not  abandon  me. 
Truly,  of  all  his  mercies,  none  do  I  esteem  more  wonder 
ful  than  this,  that  he  hath  given  me  once  more  in  you  a 
friend  after  mine  own  heart  and  a  faithful  coadjutor." 

The  veteran's  eye  kindled  as  he  spoke,  and  his  cheek 
wore  a  healthful  color,  and  his  voice  sounded  with  all  its 
wonted  firmness ;  it  was,  indeed,  as  he  himself  had  worded 
it,  as  if  one-half  his  ailment  had  been  banished  by  this 
most  opportune  and  unexpected  visit  from  the  man  whom, 
perhaps  alone,  he  truly  loved  and  honored. 

There  is  no  truth  more  certain,  than  that  those  most 
practiced  in  deceit  themselves  most  sensibly  perceive  and 
fully  honor  the  absence  of  deceit  in  others  ;  and  it  may 
be  that  Cromwell,  who  was  unquestionably,  in  some  sort, 
though  for  the  most  part  self-deceived,  a  deceiver  of  the 
world,  admired  Arden  for  that  very  frankness  of  bold 
honor  which  he  himself  possessed  not.  It  may  be,  also,  that, 
misguided  by  his  wild  fanatical  opinions,  he  at  one  time, 
believing  himself  the  object  of  immediate  inspiration, 
looked  on  his  own  worst  actions  as  his  brightest  deeds  ; 
and  at  another,  when  the  dark  fit  succeeded  to  the  fancied 
vision,  brooded  despairingly  over  his  own  misdoings,  till 
he  conceived  himself  entirely  reprobate  and  outcast. 
Doubtful  and  wavering,  then,  in  his  own  sense  of  right, 
in  his  own  conscience,  how  natural  that  he  should  draw 
deep  comfort  to  his  unquiet  soul  from  the  assurance  that 
a  man,  whom  he  knew  to  have  perused  his  heart  more 
narrowly  than  any  living  being,  and  to  have  judged  of 
him  at  one  time  with  such  harshness  as  to  abandon  him, 
now  looked  on  his  career  with  an  approving  eye ;  now 


438  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

bade  him  hail,  as  the  protector  of  his  country's  honor ; 
now  tendered  his  allegiance,  and  professed  his  willingness 
to  follow  wherever  he  should  lead.  How  natural  that  he 
should  feel  this  as  a  confirmation  of  that  which  he  would 
fain  believe,  as  a  proof  to  himself  of  his  own  half-suspected 
honesty. 

Such  were,  it  is  most  probable,  the  causes  of  the  almost 
supernatural  effect  produced  on  Oliver  by  the  return 
of  Arden ;  and,  truly,  it  was  almost  supernatural.  Till  a 
late  hour  of  the  night  he  kept  him  by  his  side,  conversing 
cheerfully,  nay,  almost  joyously,  on  his  own  future  pros 
pects,  on  the  advancement  of  his  country's  interest  abroad, 
on  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  and  of  religion,  which  is 
philosophy,  at  home.  And  Arden — as  he  now  felt  that  he 
had  wronged  Cromwell  in  his  first  suspicion,  when  he  ex 
pected  him  to  seize  the  sceptre  immediately  upon  the 
death  of  Charles ;  as  he  was  convinced  that,  when  he  had 
usurped  that  sceptre,  he  was  entirely  justified  in  wresting 
it  from  the  vile  faction  which  was  plunging  England  into 
misery  and  madness ;  as  he  perceived  that  he  had  in  all 
things  used  his  acquired  power  with  wisdom,  justice,  and 
moderation,  for  the  present  welfare  and  the  future  glory 
of  his  people — rushing,  perhaps,  too  hastily  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  he  had  acted  in  all  things,  and  from  the  first,  on 
motives  purely  patriotic — Arden  responded  to  his  cheerful 
mood ;  and  amid  pleasant  memories  of  those  past  evils, 
which  it  is  often  pleasurable  to  contemplate  when  we  are 
safe  and  happy,  and  high  anticipations  for  the  future,  the 
hours  wore  onward,  and  midnight  was  announced  from 
many  a  steeple,  and  yet  that  friendly  conclave  thought 
not  of  a  separation. 

At  that  dead  hour  of  the  night  a  guarded  step  was 
heard  without  the  door,  and  an  attendant  entering,  called 
out  the  Lady  Cromwell ;  and  she,  after  an  absence  of  some 
small  duration,  returned  far  paler  than  before,  and  with 
the  traces  of  fresh  tears  upon  her  cheek,  and  whispered 
Lady  Falconbridge,  who,  in  turn,  left  the  chamber  for  a 
while,  and,  coming  back,  again  called  out  her  sister.  It 
was  strange  that  this  dumb  show  continued  for  so  long  a 
time,  that  Arden,  and  even  the  blind  poet,  perceived  that 
something  must  be  seriously  amiss,  ere  Cromwell  noticed 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE   END.  .  439 

it.  He  was,  however,  so  much  reinvigorated,  his  spirits 
had  so  wondrously  regained  their  elasticity,  that  he  talked 
on,  and  smiled,  and  even  jested,  until  so  deep  a  gloom  had 
fallen  on  his  auditors,  infected  by  the  evident  and  hope 
less  sorrow  engraved  in  legible  characters  upon  the  woe 
begone  and  pallid  face  of  Lady  Cromwell,  that  he  could 
not  continue  longer  in  his  happy  ignorance. 

"  Ha  !  What  is  this  ?  "  he  cried,  looking  around  from 
face  to  face  in  blank  bewilderment.  "  What  is  to  do  ? 
Speak  out,  I  say,"  he  gasped ;  his  voice,  which  had  but 
lately  been  so  strong,  now  scarcely  audible — "Arden, 
speak  out — you  never  have  deceived  me ; "  and  then,  be 
fore  he  could  receive  an  answer,  had  it  been  possible  for 
Edgar  to  answer,  as  his  eye  met  his  wife's,  "  I  see,"  he 
said,  "I  see,"  in  tones  resigned,  but  inexpressibly  sad  and 
heartbroken.  "  Elizabeth  is  dead !  my  daughter,  oh  my 
daughter !  " 

Gradually  he  sank  down  from  the  pillows,  upon  which 
he  had  been  raised  in  a  half  sitting  posture,  and,  though 
he  struggled  hard  still  to  maintain  his  wonted  and  severe 
composure,  the  effort  was  too  great  for  his  enfeebled 
frame.  For  a  few  seconds'  space  he  was  successful ;  then 
stretching  out  his  wasted  arms  while  his  teeth  chattered 
in  his  head,  and  all  his  limbs  shook  as  if  palsied,  and  the 
large  scalding  tears  poured  down  his  hollow  cheeks — "  My 
God,"  he  cried,  "  my  God — why — why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me !  "  He  pulled  the  coverlet  about  his  temples,  turned 
his  face  to  the  wall,  and  burst  into  an  agony  of  sobs,  and 
groans,  and  fierce  convulsions,  that  haunted  Edgar's  ears 
long  after  he  hud  left  the  apartment  of  the  bereaved  and 
dying  parent. 


440  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE     PASSING     OF     A     MIGHTY     SPIRIT. 

Beneath 

His  fate  the  moral  lurks  of  destiny; 
11  is  day  of  double  victory  and  death 
Beheld  him  win  two  realms,  and  happier  yield  his  breath. 

CHILDK  HAROLD. 

IT  was  the  third  day  of  September,  the  anniversary  of 
Worcester,  of  Dunbar,  the  lucky  day  of  Cromwell  ;  the 
day  marked  out  as  he  believed,  by  planetary  influence  ; 
the  day  whereon  he  never  yet  had  undertaken  aught  but 
he  therefrom  had  reaped  a  golden  harvest.  And  it  would 
have  appeared,  indeed,  to  any  who  beheld  the  conflict  of 
the  elements  that  day,  that  something  of  great  import  to 
the  nations  was  portended. 

For,  at  the  earliest  dawn,  the  skies  were  overspread 
with  a  deep  lurid  crimson,  and  the  sun  rose,  although 
there  was  no  mist  on  the  horizon,  like  a  huge  ball  of  heated 
metal,  dim,  rayless,  and  discolored;  and,  as  he  rose,  the 
unchained  winds  went  forth,  raving  and  howling  through 
the  skies  with  such  strange  fury,  as  not  the  oldest  men 
could  liken  or  compare  to  aught  they  had  themselves  be 
held  or  heard  of  from  their  fathers. 

The  largest  trees  were  uptorn  from  their  earthfast  roots, 
and  hurled  like  straws  before  the  whirlwind  ;  chimneys 
and  turrets  toppled  and  crashed  incessantly  ;  cattle  were 
killed  in  open  fields  by  the  mere  force  of  the  elements  ; 
the  seas  were  strewn  with  wrecks  ;  the  lands  were  heaped 
with  ruin.  Nor  did  these  prodigies  occur  in  one  realm 
only,  or  in  one  degree  of  latitude  ;  from  north  to  south, 
from  east  to  west,  the  same  strange  tempest  swept  over 
every  shore  of  Europe,  and  at  the  self-same  hour,  marking 
its  path  with  desolation.  The  same  blast  dashed  the  ves 
sels  of  the  hardy  Norsemen  against  their  sterile  rocks,  and 
plunged  Italian  argosies  into  the  vexed  depths  of  the 
Adriatic  ;  the  same  blast  shivered  the  pine-trees  on  the 
Dofrafells,  and  the  cypress  by  the  blue  waves  of  the 
Bosphorus. 


THE  PASSING  OF  A  MIGHTY  SPIRIT.  441 

Thunder,  and  rain,  and  hail,  and  the  contending  fury 
of  the  winds,  shifting  and  veering  momently  from  point  to 
point  round  the  whole  compass,  and  the  incessant  streams 
of  "  fire  from  heaven,"  united  to  make  up  a  scene  of  hor 
ror  such  as  the  Christian  world  had  never  perhaps  beheld 
either  before  or  since ;  and,  amid  that  strange  din  and 
warfare,  the  parting  soul  of  him,  who  had  so  swayed  the 
mightier  influence  of  human  passions  to  his  will,  who  had 
so  ridden  fearlessly  through  the  more  murderous,  if  less 
appalling,  strife  of  human  warfare,  was  struggling  to  take 
wing,  to  flee  away  and  be  at  rest. 

On  the  preceding  night  all  his  physicians  had  pro 
nounced  his  cure  impossible ;  his  dissolution  speedy  and 
certain ;  for  since  the  death  of  his  beloved  daughter,  he 
had  not  closed  an  eye  by  night,  or  enjoyed  any  intermis 
sion  from  the  recurring  fits  of  ague  and  of  fever.  Yet 
still  his  preachers  buoyed  him  up  with  their  insane  and 
impious  blasphemies,  asserting  that  the  Lord,  even  the 
Lord  who  cannot  lie,  had  promised  them  that  this  his  ser 
vant  should  recover ;  and  even  when  the  mortal  pains  had 
yielded  to  the  weakness  of  approaching  death,  they  still 
forbade  him  to  fear  aught  or  to  make  any  preparation. 
On  the  preceding  evening,  seeing  the  tribulation  and 
alarm  depicted  on  the  anxious  features  of  his  wife,  he  took 
her  kindly  by  the  hand,  and  said,  "Fear  not  for  me,  my 
love,  nor  think  that  I  shall  die ;  I  am  sure  of  the  contrary." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  Arden  in  reply,  who,  since  their  recon 
ciliation,  had  scarcely  left  his  pillow  for  a  moment,  "  oh, 
sir,  believe  it  not ;  they  are  no  friends  to  you  who  would 
deceive  you  any  longer.  Your  trust  must  be  on  High, 
for  you  have  well-nigh  done  with  earth.  Not  one  of 
your  physicians  believes  you  can  outlive  to-morrow.  They 
that  would  tell  you  otherwise  have  lost  their  reason." 

"  Say  not,"  he  instantly  replied,  "  that  I  have  lost  my 
reason ;  I  tell  you  the  plain  truth.  I  know  it  from  au 
thority  far  better  than  any  you  can  have  from  Galen  or 
Hippocrates.  It  is  the  answer  of  the  Lord  himself  to  our 
prayers ;  not  to  mine  only,  but  to  those  of  others,  others 
who  have  an  interest  with  HIM  more  close  and  intimate 
than  I  have.  Go  on,  then,  cheerfully,  and,  banishing  all 
sorrow  from  your  looks,  deal  with  me  as  with  a  serving 
S* 


442  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

man.  Ye  may  have  skill  in  the  nature  of  things,  yet  na 
ture  can  do  more  than  all  physicians  put  together ;  and 
God  is  far  more  above  nature ! " 

It  was  in  vain  that  Edgar,  who  could  not  endure  that 
he  should  go  hence  in  this  wild  and  terrible  delusion, 
argued  with  him,  professing  his  sincerity  with  tears,  and 
urging  on  him  the  necessity  of  immediate  preparation,  un 
less  he  would  rush  headlong  into  his  Maker's  presence, 
unhouselled  and  unshriven.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  re 
monstrated  with  the  fanatical  and  blinded  monitors,  who, 
to  the  last,  assured  their  victim  of  speedy  restoration.  By 
Peters,  Sterry,  and  the  rest,  he  was  rebuked  as  an  un 
thinking,  carnal-minded  person,  setting  at  naught  the  in 
timations  of  the  Holy  One,  a  scoffer,  and  blasphemer ;  and 
Cromwell  was  admonished  to  put  from  him  one  whose 
presence  in  his  chamber  might  well  draw  down  upon  its 
inmate  some  dread  manifestation  of  Divine  displeasure  ; 
but  to  this  Oliver  objected  so  decidedly  that  they  dared 
urge  it  no  farther. 

"  He  is  sincere,"  he  answered  to  their  exhortations  ; 
"  sincere,  but  much  in  error !  The  Lord  hath  not  vouch 
safed  to  him  the  light  which  guides  our  footsteps ;  yet 
he  is  most  sincere,  and  pure  according  to  his  lights,  and 
so — although  those  lights  be  darkened — more  justified,  it 
may  well  be,  than  we,  who  have  more  opportunities  of 

frace   and   less  excuse  for  sin.     He  shall  not  leave  me. 
ush !     Tell  me  not — I  say  he  shall  not !     Begone,  all 
you — he  shall  alone  be  near  me  !  " 

His  will  was  instantly  obeyed,  and  through  the  livelong 
night  Sir  Edgar  watched  beside  his  bed;  and  on  that 
night,  for  the  first  time  since  Lady  Claypole's  death,  did 
sleep  visit  his  weary  eyes ;  but  sleep  how  terrible — not 
the  "  soft  nurse  of  nature,"  but  its  convulsion.  As  his 
eyes  closed  in  slumber  the  delusions  which  he  cherished 
while  awake  forsook  him,  and  death,  in  all  its  terrors, 
glared  on  him  face  to  face.  His  features,  bold  still  and 
firm,  though  pallid  and  emaciate,  were  frightfully  distorted 
by  the  agonies  of  terror  and  despair ;  the  sweat  stood  in 
dark  beaded  bubbles  on  his  brow,  and  his  thin  hair  seemed, 
to  the  sight  of  the  excited  watcher,  to  bristle  on  his  head ; 
his  hands  were  cast  abroad  like  those  of  a  man  drowning 


THE  PASSING  OF  A  MIGHTY  SPIRIT.  443 

and  the  whole  bed  was  shaken  by  the  convulsive  shiver 
ing  of  his  limbs. 

"  Keep  them  away ! "  he  cried,  in  words  painfully  clear 
and  thrilling,  "  keep  them  away !  What  would  they  with 
me  ?  No  !  no !  I  am  not  ready — I  will  not — do  they  not 
hear  me  say,  I  will  not  die  ? "  and  he  ground  his  teeth 
violently,  and  struggled  as  with  persons  striving  to 
drag  him  down.  Appalled  beyond  expression,  Sir  Edgar 
touched  him  gently,  and  he  awoke ;  but,  still  unconscious 
and  bewildered,  he  continued  for  a  moment  to  resist  and 
utter,  "  Avaunt !  Get  thee  behind  me !  for  what  have  I 
to  do  with  thee,  thou  Evil  One  ?  "  Then,  recognizing 
Arden,  he  forced  a  feeble  smile,  and  muttering  something 
of  a  fearful  dream,  composed  himself  again  to  rest,  and, 
after  a  few  moments,  was  again  asleep.  But  instantly 
again  the  vision  came  upon  him ;  and  this  time  his  eyes 
were  opened  wide,  and  stared  abroad  as  if  awake. 

"  Away  with  it,"  he  gasped ;  "  away  with  that  blood 
stained  and  headless  trunk  !  Why  dost  thou  glare  on  me, 
thou  discrowned  spirit ;  thou  canst  not  say  I  judged  thee  ? 
King !  king ! — there  be  no  kings  in  England — the  man, 
the  man  Charles  Stuart !  Beseech  me  not,  I  say — I  can 
not  save  thee!  It  falls!  it  falls!  that  deadly-gleaming 
ax !  Ha !  ha  !  said  I  not  so— there  be  no  kings  in  Eng 
land?"  Again  he  woke,  and  once  again,  after  a  little 
time,  sunk  into  a  perturbed  and  restless  slumber,  which 
lasted,  although  fitful  and  uneasy,  until  the  morning  cocks 
had  crown. 

Then,  with  a  start  that  raised  him  from  his  pillow, 
"  Devil !  "  he  muttered,  through  his  clinched  teeth  ;  "  ha, 
devil,  was  it  thou  ?  thou  that  didst  break  my  childish 
sleep,  telling  me  I  should  be  the  First  in  England  ?  thou 
that  didst  plunge  my  stainless  soul  in  blood,  oceans  of 
blood,  my  king's,  my  people's,  my  own  child's  ?  Blood ! 
blood !  "  he  shrieked  aloud,  and  once  more  Edgar  touched 
him ;  but,  as  he  was  aroused,  unwilling  to  encounter  or 
abash  him,  he  feigned  himself  to  sleep,  and  heard  him  say, 
"  Happy  !  Oh !  how  innocent  and  happy !  Lo !  how  se 
rene  he  slumbers.  But  it  was  a  dream — a  foul  dream 
only."  For  a  time  he  kept  silence,  but  once  or  twice 
groaned  deeply;  and,  after  a  little  while,  Arden  beheld 


444  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

him  through  his  half  shut  lids,  raise  himself  on  his  knees, 
and,  with  clasped  hands,  pour  forth  a  prayer  befitting 
rather,  as  Ludlow  afterward  observed  when  it  was  found 
transcribed  among  his  papers,  "  a  mediator's  than  a  sin 
ner's  deathbed ! " 

"Lord,"  he  exclaimed,  "although  I  am  a  wretched  and 
a  miserable  creature,  I  am  in  covenant  with  thee  through 
grace ;  and  I  may,  I  will  come  unto  thee  for  thy  people. 
Thou  hast  made  me  a  mean  instrument  to  do  them  some 
good  and  thee  service ;  and  many  of  them  have  set  too 
high  a  value  on  me,  though  others  wish  and  would  be 
glad  of  my  death.  But,  Lord,  however  thou  dost  dispose 
of  me,  continue  to  go  on  to  do  good  for  them.  Give 
them  consistency  of  judgment,  one  heart,  and  mutual  love ; 
and  go  on  to  deliver  them,  and  with  the  work  of  refor 
mation,  and  make  the  name  of  Christ  glorious  throughout 
the  world.  Teach  those  who  look  too  much  upon  thy  in 
struments  to  depend  more  upon  thyself.  Pardon  such  as 
desire  to  trample  upon  the  dust  of  a  poor  worm,  for  they 
are,  thy  people,  too ;  and  pardon  the  folly  of  this  short 
prayer,  for  Jesus  Christ  his  sake,  and  give  us  a  good  night 
if  it  be  thy  pleasure." 

Having,  to  the  unspeakable  astonishment  of  Arden, 
who,  when  he  saw  him  rise,  expected  a  confession  of  his 
crimes  and  an  appeal  for  pardon,  poured  forth  these  strange 
ejaculations,  he  laid  him  down,  and  slept  a  calm,  and,  as 
it  seemed,  refreshing  sleep,  until  the  first  beams  of  the 
lurid  sun  shone  into  the  apartment;  then,  starting  up 
again,  "  Hell !  "  he  shrieked  out ;  "  hell  hath  gat  hold 
upon  me ;  the  pains  of  hell  have  compassed  me ! "  and 
would  have  leaped  out  of  bed  upon  the  floor  if  Edgar  had 
not  caught  him  in  his  arms. 

At  the  same  moment  the  awful  uproar  of  the  tempest 
burst  suddenly  and  without  warning  upon  the  terrified 
and  reeling  world.  But  the  storm  fell  unheeded  on  the 
ears  of  Oliver  and  of  his  sole  attendant ;  both  were  too 
deeply  moved,  the  one  by  the  remembrance  of  his  tre 
mendous  dreams,  the  other  by  compassion,  pity,  and  dis 
may,  to  think  of  anything  external.  In  a  short  time,  how 
ever,  Oliver  regained  his  wonted  calmness ;  and,  making 
no  aDusion  to  the  occurrences  of  the  past  night,  Edgar 


THE  PASSING  OF  A  MIGHTY  SPIRIT.  445 

disturbed  him  not  by  speaking  of  them.  As  the  day  now 
advanced,  his  wife,  his  children,  some  of  his  officers,  and 
all  his  chaplains  crowded  into  his  chamber ;  he  spoke  to 
all  kindly  and  cheerfully ;  but  Edgar  saw  that  all  the  over 
weening  confidence  of  the  preceding  day  had  left  him ; 
and  though  the  fanatics  continued  to  rave  in  his  ears, 
promising  present  health  and  future  glory,  he  listened 
with  indifference,  and  his  eye  no  longer  flashed  at  their 
bold  prophecies,  nor  did  he  answer  anything,  nor  prophesy 
at  all  himself,  though  called  on  frequently  throughout  the 
day  by  Peters  to  say  something  to  the  Lord,  and  to  make 
intercession. 

For  the  most  part  he  lay  still  upon  his  back,  with  his 
hands  folded  on  his  breast,  and  his  face  perfectly  composed 
and  calm ;  but  twice  or  thrice  a  short  quick  spasm  twitched 
the  muscles  of  his  mouth,  and  once  he  wrung  his  hands, 
perhaps  unconsciously.  He  spoke  but  seldom,  and  then 
only  in  short  sentences,  evidently  growing  weaker  every 
moment.  Once  he  remarked  upon  the  day,  his  anniver 
sary,  but,  strange  to  tell,  he  noticed  not  at  all  the  furious 
tempest  which  shook  the  very  palace-roof  above  him,  and, 
saving  in  its  lulls,  drowned  every  sound  of  voice  or  mo 
tion.  Toward  noon  he  dozed  a  little  while,  and  on  his 
waking,  called  to  Peters. 

"  Tell  me,"  he  said,  "  I  pray  you — and,  on  your  life 
here  and  hereafter,  I  charge  you  to  tell  me  truly — for, 
look  you,  '  tis  a  grievous  thing  to  lie  unto  a  man  situate 
like  to  me.  Can  one  who  hath  been  once  in  grace  fall  off 
by  any  means,  and  ever  become  reprobate  thereafter,  so 
as  to  peril  his  salvation  ?  " 

"  Surely  he  canifot !  "  answered  the  fanatic.  "  He  that 
is  once  in  grace  can  never  more  backslide,  nor  fall,  nor 
even  falter!  All  that  he  doth  thereafter  is  of  grace, 
and,  therefore,  holy  !  —  his  life  is  precious  —  his  salvation 
certain ! " 

"  Soh  ! "  answered  the  dying  man ;  "  I  then  am  safe— 
for  sure  I  am  that  once  I  was  in  grace.  " 

Shocked  beyond  all  expression,  Edgar  would  fain  have 
once  again  renewed  his  exhortations  ;  but,  just  as  he  be 
gan,  Cromwell  asked  for  his  family ;  embraced  them  one 
by  one,  and  almost  instantly  sank  into  a  state  of  lethargic 


446  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

stupor,  from  which  no  efforts  of  his  now  alarmed  atten 
dants  could  rouse  him.  At  length,  just  as  the  clock  was 
striking  three,  a  louder  crash  of  thunder  than  any  of  the 
claps  which  had  rolled  almost  incessantly  throughout  the 
day  broke  on  the  melancholy  silence.  "  Cannon  !  "  he 
muttered,  faintly,  as  he  woke,  the  sound  commingling 
with  his  recollections  of  the  day.  "  Lambert,  bring  up 
the  cannon !  Charge  there — charge  with  your  pikes, 
valiant  and  trusty  Goff!  " 

"  His  mind  is  atDunbar,"  whispered  one  of  the  military 
men  to  Arden;  "but,  lo !  wherefore  do  they  torment 
him  ?  » 

The  question  was  produced  by  a  late  effort  on  the  part 
of  some  about  his  person  to  induce  the  dying  ruler  to  de 
clare  who  should  succeed  him.  To  a  direct,  straightfor 
ward  question  he  gave  no  answer ;  then  he  was  asked, 
should  Richard  be  the  next  protector,  and  a  faint  motion 
of  his  head,  casual,  as  it  seemed  to  Arden,  and  unmean 
ing,  was  construed  to  imply  assent.  A  little  longer  he 
gasped  feebly,  without  speaking. 

Another  crash  of  thunder  appeared  to  split  the  very 
firmament,  and  the  blue  flickering  lightning  fearfully 
glanced  upon  the  dying  soldier's  pale,  stern  features. 
They  kindled  in  the  glare,  and  the  eye  flashed,  and  the 
hand  was  waved  aloft.  "  On !  "  he  exclaimed  ;  "  on,  iron 
sides!  Down  with  the  sons  of  Zeruiah!"  Then,  in  a 
feebler  tone,  "  Ha !  "  he  continued,  "  have  at  thee !  What, 
again  ?  Dismounted — oh !  dismounted  !  Ho !  rescue — 
help — help!  Arden — lost!  lost! — Arden! — help! — resc — " 
The  sharp  death-rattle  cut  short  the  unfinished  word — the 
eyeballs  glazed — the  lifted  hand  sank  nerveless — the  jaw 
dropped.  The  strife  was  over.  Ambition,  energy,  sa 
gacity,  and  valor,  won  for  the  great  usurper  naught  but  a 
broken  heart  and  an  untimely  grave. 

There  was  a  deep  hush  in  the  chamber,  awfully  solemn 
and  impressive.  A  woman's  sob  first  broke  the  spell ; 
and  then  the  voice  of  his  first  follower — last  friend,  "There 
passed  the  spirit  of  the  greatest  man  England  has  ever 
seen.  Peace  to  his  soul.  His  faults  die  with  him.  But 
never  —  never,  while  the  round  world  endures,  shall 
his  fame  be  forgotten,  or  the  good  he  hath  done  his  coun- 


THE  PASSING  OF  A  MIGHTY  SPIRIT.  447 

try  pass  away.  Weep,  England,  weep — your  benefactor 
is  no  more — and  I  foresee  much  strife,  much  anarchy, 
much  blood.  But  he  who  hath  gone  hence  hath  sown  the 
seed,  the  seed  of  thy  prosperity,  thy  freedom,  and  thy 
glory ;  and  thou  shalt  reap  the  harvest,  thou  and  thy  sons, 
for  many  a  deathless  age,  when  he  who  now  is  nothing,  and 
I  who  mourn  above  him,  shall  be  dust  unto  dust,  and  ashes 
unto  ashes!" 


THE    END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


30MAR'59DF 

RtiG'D  LD 

.-      . 

nncr'eoRT 

S.i   i,»»-^ 

n 

, 

T  r»  9i  A    ^n«o  Q  'sa                                       General  Library 
X6D8829BV)°47^  58                               UniverS^feglif°rnia 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


